Drought situation

Sir, - The unprecedented severity of the drought conditions prevailing in different States has prompted the Prime Minister to make a fervent appeal for public contributions to tide over the crisis. Reports about cattle and crops perishing and people fleeing in the wake of drought and acute scarcity of water appearing in the media day after day are highly distressing. The misery suffered by crores of people in different parts of the country should touch everyone's sensitivity. The calamity needs to be tackled unitedly and on a war-footing.

The PM's appeal for public contributions shows the urgency of the situation. Every effort should now be made to gear up the administrative machinery to meet the challenge, with constant monitoring to ensure prompt assistance to the affected people. The PM should ensure that no misappropriation of public funds takes place and that the poor and needy do get necessary assistance.

The way in which the Orissa relief funds were handled has been a disgrace to our concept of humanity. The rulers have to remember that the well-meaning people making the contributions should not feel cheated. If such impressions gain ground, the inflow of contributions to relief funds will be adversely affected. Exemplary punishment of the delinquent officials will check the menace of embezzlement.

The severe drought also serves as a crude reminder that man's onslaught on nature will result in such ruthless backlashes. Widespread deforestation and overexploitation of natural resources upsetting the ecological balance are now demanding the price and we are to pay it.

The lesson we ought to learn from the calamity is that we cannot take nature for granted if we do not make good, at least partially, the damage by making earth greener and pollution-free.

N. K. Vijayan,

Kizhakkambalam (Kerala)

Sir, - Drought has struck again. For a country that has a century of drought experience, it reveals how unprepared we are to act against calamities. Drought is no sudden calamity and if it strikes, it only has been in the making for years; it is preventable, especially in a comparatively more rain-blessed country like India.

There are thrifty, but comparatively long-term ways out of the crisis as Indian watershed development pioneers Anna Hazare and Rajendra Singh recently showcased at the International Water Meet in the Netherlands. Their models left the other delegates at the meet, the first of its kind in the world, with a lasting impression.

Most modes of water conservation revolve around preventing run- off and incrementing the local water table. Hence the need to construct water tanks to hoard the rain water. Apart from Hazare's and Singh's testing fields, run-off prevention has shown good results in many other places. Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district recently came in for applause for its tank-building campaign. Because of India's long affair with rain-fed ponds, experts too are aplenty.

More importantly, village level water conservation has proved a fitting example of the delegation of power to the people. India's arid and remote villages need not wait for government help, they can themselves decide and utilise the funds for bund-building. Anna Hazare's village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra is probably the best example of how best a non-governmental effort could transform crass aridity into verdant greenery.

A long term bailout is necessary to preserve life's elixir. The PM may ask for contributions to bust this year's drought, but what about the future?

Mohammad Shahid,

Surathkal (Karnataka)

Sir, - It is sad that some States are reeling under severe drought conditions, forcing women to trek 10 km to fetch a pot of water, as vividly portrayed in your Editorial (TheHindu, April 25). Pathetically, fodder crisis has resulted in the death of livestock.

This should have been anticipated, after last year's failure of monsoon and hence the present water crisis is due to the callousness of the State Governments concerned in not taking adequate steps to save water. The other imminent danger is the rising of temperature to an unbearable level (perhaps 50 degrees Centigrade) during the next two hot months, which may result in sun stroke deaths. Your suggestion on `water trains' should be implemented immediately.

Arcot Easwaran,

Chennai

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