Situation alarming: More than one-third population hit by drought The country is facing severe drought for the second consecutive year. Conservative estimates from official sources show that over a quarter of rural habitations are facing drinking water scarcity. Although both India Meteorological Department and Skymet have predicted a more than normal rainfall during June-September, 2016, the water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country has declined from 22 percent...
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Cooking together to cope in waterless Bundelkhand -Chitra Narayanan
-The Hindu Business Line Community kitchens forge unity in drought-hit villages It’s nearing 6 pm as we enter Kadesara Khurd, a dry drought-affected village in Lalitpur district of arid Bundelkhand. The main lane of the village wears a deserted look and several houses are padlocked. An emaciated cow is sprawled on the doorstep of one of the abandoned homes. “Over 200 people from this village have migrated to Bhopal, Delhi, Lucknow and...
More »In Bundelkhand, cattle deaths, hunger signal looming famine -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com With food and water in short supply, farmers in Bundelkhand are leaving cattle to fend for themselves Mahoba (Uttar Pradesh)/New Delhi: Some time in March, Dhan Prasad Anuragi led his pregnant cow Kajal a couple of miles outside his village and abandoned her. The 55-year-old farmer, who lives in Balchaur village of Mahoba district in Uttar Pradesh, says he had no choice. He couldn’t afford to feed the cow and his only hope...
More »Unseeing the drought -Harsh Mander
-The Indian Express The suffering of millions does not create public outrage, much less government accountability. The people of India’s villages carry collective memories of centuries of calamitous losses of sometimes millions of lives in famines. Famines have been pushed into history, unarguably one of free India’s greatest accomplishments. But the same can’t be said about droughts, which continue to extract an enormous toll on human suffering. At least a third of the...
More »In UP’s parched Bundelkhand, one farmer scripts a success story, sets example -Eram Agha
-The Times of India BANDA: In Uttar Pradesh's parched Bundelkhand region, one farmer is scripting a success story, and has set an example in a region ravaged by farmers' suicide and drought. Locals and activists are now approaching Prem Singh to find out how his practices have transformed his farm into a lush area. Bundelkhand, according to the estimates of NGO Parmarth Samaj Sevi Sansthan, has seen 113 farmers' suicides since January...
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