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Rainfall is one of the major sources of needed water. Rainfall amount also determines the agricultural and industrial activities in the region.  The present study has been conducted to examine the rainfall trend in the Shali reservoir area of the Gangajalghati block in Bankura district in West Bengal. The Shali reservoir was made to provide irrigation water in the Gangajalghati block. Water insufficiency is a habitual threat to the people of this area. Here the planting and production of crops highly depend on the constricted period of inconsistent rainfall. About 80-90 % of rainfall usually occurs in this area from June to September until the onset of heavy rains. Therefore, in this drought-prone area, the analysis of rain patterns is very vital to understand the change in rainfall at all times. The monthly and annual rainfall data have been taken from field surveys and secondary surveys for almost the last 40 years (1980 to 2020). The Mann Kendall (MK) and Sen’s Slope estimate (SSE) tests have been applied to recognize the standing trend and the SSE test has been used to discover the existing trend and extent of change in rainfall over time. The rainfall data has been taken from ten rain gauge stations surrounding the study area. The relevant maps were prepared using Remote Sensing and the rainfall distribution pattern was analyzed with the help of the kriging interpolation technique of GIS. The annual MK test shows a positive trend but the season-wise MK test is showing a negative trend during monsoon season. SPI result describes that the study area is not getting normal rainfall during the monsoon season, it may create harmful effects on agricultural productivity. The study suggests taking proper drought management programs to combat this situation.

The present study aspires to distinguish suitable irrigation lands using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and geographic information system (GIS) of the Shali River basin area, which is a part of the Shali reservoir irrigation project (medium irrigation project) of West Bengal, India. Therefore, 12 factors were identified as criteria, including elevation, slope, rainfall, soil group, sand, silt, clay, nitrogen, pH, organic carbon, land use and land cover (LULC) and river distance. The results show that the Shali Basin has approximately 64% irrigation‐suitable land. The irrigational suitability reveals that the villages near the river have highly irrigation‐suitable lands. Therefore, it can be said that the distance to the river plays a major role as it determines the irrigation water availability. It is therefore advisable to install rainwater catchment structures in villages that are significantly distant from the river. This study may help farmers to select cropping patterns according to irrigation suitability and the concerned readers to understand the irrigation land suitability analysis with appropriate parameters and methods under any medium irrigation project.