Farmers dig wells for groundwater to stem drought

Farmer Zhang Shouqin had been upset for weeks as the prolonged heat wave scorched his 53 hectares of rice in Feixi county of East China's Anhui province.

While his rice is in a critical growing phase, temperatures have reached the 35 C line-the bench mark for high temperature-for more than 40 days this summer.

"My nerves were not eased until last Friday when the township government completed a 170-meter deep well on my farmland," said Zhang.

With rivers, lakes and reservoirs shrinking, the province has intensified efforts to tap underground water.

The provincial government has allocated a drought relief fund of 700 million yuan ($102 million) backed by the central and local governments, according to the provincial government's finance department.

Local governments said much of the funds have been used for digging new wells and dredging existing ones.

By Saturday, the province had put more than 24,000 wells into use for drought relief, according to a report by Anhui Daily.

The government of Huagang township, where Zhang lives, said it had completed four wells for drought relief by Tuesday and six more will be ready soon.

In Shuanghe township in Lu'an city, farmers are encouraged to dig wells and will receive government subsidies of at least 2,000 yuan per well.

With many drought-hit farms in hilly areas, diverting water from distant places requires building channels and costs more time, and the declining water levels make the process even harder, experts told Anhui Daily.

During an inspection tour to Feixi county on Saturday, Zheng Shanjie, Party secretary of Anhui, said local governments should make every effort to reduce agricultural losses.

Measures should be taken to meet the current needs and for future development, Zheng said, adding that the building of irrigation channels should be accelerated.

The Anhui Meteorological Bureau said there will be limited rain in parts of the province starting on Tuesday.