SPECIALS  »   Drought in India

Food stocks attacked by monkeys Sharad Sharma, Tuesday September 1, 2009, New Delhi In the midst of the drought, the only comforting factor is that India has 50 million tonnes of food stocks but when the food stocks are needed they may not actually be there, because the monkeys have taken their share. More»

Difficult year for India: PM Press Trust of India, Tuesday September 1, 2009, New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said the global economic downturn which had affected Indian economy as well, is now coming to an end with slow return to normalcy. More»

The issue of crop insurance in Andhra Uma Sudhir, Friday August 28, 2009, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh The Andhra Pradesh government is taking pride that it has been proactive in ensuring loans and crop insurance cover for farmers but the situation on the ground is far from reassuring. NDTV’s Uma Sudhir reports that farmers let down by the rains have nothing to fall back on. More»

Bihar floods: 23 dead, 10 lakh homeless Shyam Kumar, Raman Kumar, Friday August 28, 2009, Patna In Bihar, nature is at its ironic best. The state is split – there is severe drought in one part and now, floods in another. Already, 23 people have died in the Bihar floods and 10 lakh have been displaced. In north Bihar, when it finally started raining, farmers were a relieved lot. But 10 days later, the rain hasn't stopped and the fear of the drought has been washed away by the fear of floods. More»

Cattle distress in drought Miloni Bhatt, Thursday August 27, 2009, Marathwada Region The drought this year has forced farmers to resort to distress sale of their cattle. With no fodder or water for the cattle, farmers are left with little choice. “It’s been a month and a half that we have had no rain. There is just no fodder for the cattle. So I am selling a buffalo,” said a farmer in the region. More»

Why cane crops have failed Miloni Bhatt, Tuesday August 25, 2009, Sangvi village, Nanded In sugarcane belt of Marathwada, there’s hardly any cane this time around. The reason: two years of drought. Even well-off farmers with access to irrigation have shied away from planting this water intensive crop, the result could be a further fall in sugar production. More»

Farmer loans wait for takers in Andhra T S Sudhir, Tuesday August 25, 2009, Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh has not declared a drought in any part of the state. This is despite the fact that there’s a 50- percent deficit in rainfall. It’s all about the math, explains TS Sudhir. More»

Jharkhand: Hope in fields of despair Alok Pandey, Haribans Sharma, Sunday August 23, 2009, Bedo, Ranchi More than half of the country is dealing with a crippling drought, and farmers are fast losing hope of any relief. Jharkhand was one of the first states to declare a drought, across all its districts, but from a state so stricken by calamity, also comes a story of hope in these times. Here’s the story of a humble villager whose initiative is helping a set of farmers to overcome the tragedy. More»

The politics of drought Radhika Bordia, Saturday August 22, 2009, Hardoi It's a bewildering statistic -- a preposterous claim really. If 78% of land did indeed have water supply then why would a delay in the monsoons or erratic rainfall create a drought situation in 58 out of 71 districts. The answer lies in the ground realities. More»

Drought will affect economy: Pranab Sandeep Phukan, Friday August 21, 2009, New Delhi The monsoons have picked up this week, but it’s probably too little too late. On Friday, the Union and state governments held a meeting to work out a drought action plan. “Drought not only affects the production of crops but it has a cascading effect and they are already posing some serious concerns,” said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. More»