Drought paralyses States in Southern India

TAMIL NADU - For the third year in a row, drought has severely affected Tamil Nadu. Its intensity is perhaps best illustrated by the barren vastness in the Cauvery delta region in the Vadapathimangalam division of Tiruvarur district and by the thousands of acres of fertile land that are lying unused along with irrigation canals thick with weeds. Farmers have lost five paddy crops in a row since 2002 and do not see any hope of harvesting the June-September crop this year. Even cash crops such as sugarcane, banana, betel vine, gingili, onion, cotton, black gram, tomatoes and chillies raised on small plots of land using the limited amount of water available have been destroyed. Furthermore, the rural economy is shrinking fast. The debts of small and marginal farmers are mounting, as they are unable to repay the money borrowed over the past three years. Farm labourers from Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam – the core Cauvery delta districts – have begun migrating to Tirupur in Tamil Nadu and to Kerala in search of work.

KARNATAKA - The three-year drought, brought on primarily by the continuous failure of the south-west monsoon, has had a major impact on both surface and groundwater systems in the Cauvery basin. Inflow into the Cauvery water reservoirs has reduced drastically. This has affected agriculture throughout the Cauvery basin, both in Karnataka and in Tamil Nadu. According to figures released by the Karnataka government, the normal area sown in the areas of the Cauvery river system is 450,000 hectares. In 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 the sown area was only 239,000 and 238,000 hectares respectively. This dropped to 210,000 hectares in 2003-2004, which is only 46 percent of the normal area.

KERALA - Palakkad district is facing one of the worst droughts in its history. Traditionally, it is a low-rainfall region, but in the past decade there has been an alarming decrease in rainfall from 2,103 millimetres in 1994 to 1,208 millimetres in 2003. Though six other districts in the State are also facing a parching and early summer, it is the water scarcity in Palakkad district that has alarmed environmentalists the most. Palakkad has long been considered the main "granary" of Kerala, growing a variety of crops, including rice, coconut, groundnut, cotton, sugarcane, pepper, banana, ragi, rubber, mango, orange, coffee, cardamom and vegetables. Its economy is sustained primarily by agriculture, which engages more than 65 per cent of the workers.

ANDHRA PRADESH -Andhra Pradesh is the fifth largest Indian state both geographically and demographically. The population (in 2001) of 75.7 million is 7.37% of India’s total population. It is divided into three regions -Rayalaseema, Coastal Andhra and Telangana. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has declared 23 districts as drought-affected. Under the relentless heat of the sun, people are trying everything possible just to survive. Each day brings news of more deaths due to the heat and hunger – the death toll has reached over 1,200. For the state government these deaths are just part of the "sun stroke statistics". However, there appears to be a pattern in these statistics – the majority of those included in the statistics were daily wage earners. Dalits and scheduled castes have been the worst hit with 80 per cent of the victims from families that fall below the poverty line. Malnutrition has been a significant factor in many of the deaths.

MAHARASHTRA - Even as late as October 2003, grape-growers in Sangli district of Maharashtra had not lost hope of a delayed spell of rain. Most of the areas in the State had had a good monsoon but it did not revive itself to make good the deficit in their district. By November more than 80 per cent of the crop in Sangli and Tasgaon sub-districts had perished. Other areas also fared equally badly. The Kharif crop failed in 71 sub-districts (tehsils) of 11 districts and distraught farmers did not even plant the rabi crop. It was the fourth consecutive year of drought in these parts of western, central and south-western Maharashtra. At the core of the problem of recurring drought is the decreasing expenditure on water management by the State and the local administration using a response-oriented rather than a prevention-oriented strategy to react to crises.

Impact

Food and livelihood security and access to potable water for vulnerable women, children, the elderly and infirm is a major concern. The depletion of family food and cash reserves along with lack of employment opportunities are forcing the poor to resort to selling land and livestock and borrowing at exorbitant rates of interest. Livestock, which in many cases is a primary source of income, is rapidly dwindling and migration has assumed massive proportions. The shortage of fodder and water in the affected areas has put the cattle population of these areas at risk. The Government is responding but the scale of the drought means that there are large pockets untouched by official relief assistance.

ACT members Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), the Lutheran World Service India (LWSI) and the United Evangelical Church in India (UELCI) are in contact with each other and are planning proposals to assist the most vulnerable of those affected by the drought conditions. An ACT appeal is forthcoming and we would appreciate any possible indications of funding.

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira, ACT Finance Officer (jkg@act-intl.org). Thank you.