Malda stares at crop losses
The scorching sun has been beating down on parched farmlands in Malda, sucking the waterbodies dry and causing the groundwater level to plummet. Officials in the district agriculture department fear huge crop losses if it does not rain in the next few days. The four blocks of Old Malda, Bamungola, Gajole and Habibpur are already facing severe drinking water shortage. Standing boro paddy and jute stalks are wilting in the searing heat.