droughts are a result of man's insensitivity towards nature. explain in 100 words.
Answers
Drought is one of the most frequently occurring national disasters in India. With its
increased frequency and expanded coverage in the recent years, about one third of the
country is either drought prone or under desert areas. These areas are lagging behind in
agriculture and also in overall economic growth. They experience wide year-to-year
fluctuations in agricultural production and incomes and have a relatively high incidence
of poverty. The poor in these regions are highly vulnerable to a variety of risks due to
their low and fluctuating incomes, high indebtedness and low human development.
Helping the poor to come out of vulnerability and poverty and integrating the drought
prone areas into the mainstream of development is a serious challenge faced by policy
makers at present.
Droughts and famines have received attention of rulers in India right from the 13th and
14th century. Muhammad Tughlakh was perhaps the first Sultan to take systematic steps
to alleviate efforts of droughts by distributing grains to drought affected people in Delhi
in 1343 AD (Loveday 1985). This approach was followed and improved upon by
Mughals and many other kings and rulers later on. During the British period also efforts
were made to provide relief to droughts / famine affected people by organizing relief
works and food distribution, distribution of fodder, loans to farmers to start cultivation in
the next season etc. The first Scarcity Manual was prepared by the British Government in
1883, which was followed by other manuals by some provincial governments (Hirway
2001), The Royal Commission on Agriculture in 1928 recommended promotion of dry
land farming to promote agriculture in famine affected regions. However, the efforts were
scanty and there was an alarming increase in the frequency of during the British period
(Bhatia 1967).
After independence droughts have received much more attention of policy makers than
before. One observes an evolution in the drought policy over the past few decades.
Famines have been eradicated and starvation deaths are rare if not nil. The government
has adopted a three pronged strategy to face droughts: (1) providing relief to drought hit
population under scarcity relief programmes (2) designing special area development
programme for drought prone areas and desert areas (DPAP – drought prone area
programme and DDP – desert development programme) and (3) promoting dry farming
agriculture as a part of agricultural policy.
Somehow this approach has not worked very well, as is evident from the increasing
drought prone areas in the country and the relatively high poverty and vulnerability of
people living in these areas. These areas are lagging behind in growth and tend to remain
isolated. The new opportunities of globalization are likely to bypass these regions if
adequate steps are not taken to integrate them into the mainstream economy. There is
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therefore a need to investigate (1) whether the drought policy in India has been able to
address the multiple dimensions of droughts adequately, (2) whether the policy needs to
be reoriented or modified, (3) whether there is a need to reorganize its implementation
and (4) what kind of measures are needed to enable drought prone areas to access the new
opportunities under globalization. The proposed study intends to undertake this
investigation.
Explanation:
Answer. Explanation: Drought can result in lower water levels in reservoirs, lakes and ponds, as well as reduced streamflow in rivers. This decrease in available water can also lead to a reduction of some wetlands, groundwater depletion and even impact water quality (e.g. salt concentration can increase