-Theweekendleader.com/ Women's Feature Service Purulia (West Bengal): It was ironical that Purulia district often found itself on the West Bengal government's 'drought-hit' list when the average rainfall here is 1100mm-1500mm. The failure to conserve water as well as poor agricultural practices meant that despite back-breaking labour in the fields, farmers could only achieve six months' food sufficiency. Today, however, all that is changing thanks to a water management revolution led by ordinary village...

-The Indian Express Every crisis produces its fall guy. This time, it is sugarcane that’s bearing the brunt of the blame for drought, especially in Maharashtra’s worst-affected Marathwada region. Sugarcane, no doubt, requires 2,100-2,200 mm of water, more than the 1,400 mm or so for paddy, 900 mm for cotton, 600 mm for jowar (sorghum) and arhar (pigeon-pea), 550 mm for wheat, and under 500 mm for soyabean and chana (chickpea). But then,...

-The Economic Times PUNE | NEW DELHI | KOCHI | KOLKATA: Farmers in Kasegaon, a village in south Maharashtra, have been spending Rs 20 crore every month to make sure their grape orchards get enough water — without irrigation, the crop would shrivel up and die. But they're luckier than some of their counterparts elsewhere in the country — at least there's water to be had, albeit at a stiff price. Two...

-The Indian Express A new initiative attempts to economically empower villagers living near Kanha National Park, and protect its green cover and wildlife. The Kanha–Pench forest corridor is rich in biodiversity and home to a large concentration of tigers, leopards, gaurs, barasingha, and cheetal. But with the population of the villages increasing and land holdings shrinking, conservation efforts were paramount. If the needs of the villagers for improved livelihoods are not...

-IANS CHANDIGARH: The green fields of Punjab, which are known to produce a golden harvest year after year to cater to the country's foodgrain needs, have a dark side -- water scarcity. Large areas in the state are staring at low water availability that has the potential of damaging the state's agrarian livelihood in the coming years. "Punjab, the land of five rivers, is staring at a dark future on the water front....