Write a essay on Famine and Drought.
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Answer:
Since ancient times droughts have had far-reaching effects on humankind by causing the failure of crops, decreasing natural vegetation, and depleting water supplies. Livestock and wildlife, as well as humans, die of thirst and famine; large land areas often suffer damage from dust storms or fire.
Famines are extreme shortages of food that cause people to die of starvation.
Where: Egypt
When: 1200-02
The Egyptian people relied on the annual flooding of the Nile River to leave soil for growing crops. After a shortage of rain, however, the Nile didn't rise. People were unable to grow food and began to starve to death. The final death toll was 110,000, due to starvation, cannibalism, and disease.
Where: Ireland
When: 1845-49
Potatoes were the mainstay of the Irish diet. When the crop was struck by a potato blight (a fungus that killed the crop), farmers and their families began to starve. The grain and livestock raised in Ireland were owned by the English, and the laws of the time prevented the Irish people from importing grain to eat. This combination of plant disease and politics resulted in the Great Potato Famine, which killed 1.5 million people and caused a million more to move to America.
Where: The Great Plains of the U.S.
When: 1930s
The U.S. experienced its longest drought of the twentieth century. Peak periods were 1930, 1934, 1936, 1939, and 1940. During 1934, dry regions stretched solidly from New York and Pennsylvania across the Great Plains to the California coast. A great dust bowl covered 50 million acres in the south central plains during the winter of 1935,1936. Heavy winds caused the dry soil to be blown into huge clouds. Crops and pasture lands were ruined by the harsh dust storms, which also proved a severe health hazard.
Where: Northern China
When: 1959-61
The world's deadliest famine killed an estimated 30 million people in China. Drought was followed by crop failure, which was followed by starvation, disease, and cannibalism. News of the famine was not revealed to the rest of the world until 1981, some 20 years later.
Where: Biafra, Africa (present-day Nigeria)
When: 1967-69
As a result of civil war, famine conditions killed an estimated 1 million people and left another 3.5 million suffering from extreme malnutrition.
Where: Europe
When: 2003
Drought conditions and a heat wave, one of the worst in 150 years, broke temperature records from London to Portugal, fueled forest fires, ruined crops, and caused thousands of deaths. (French fatalities estimated at more than 14,000.)
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Famine And Drought
Introduction-
Famine means complete shortage of food. It is that stage when people begin to die for want of food. We know the famine of Bengal in 1943 when thousands of men, women and children died. Today there is no famine in India. But sometimes in some parts of the country there is a famine like situation. Many countries of the world face such a situation,But things have been improved in our country.
India : Past & Present-
In the past India was said to be the land of milk and honey. But it became a country of famine, floods and poverty. Thereare several causes of famine in our country. The backwardness of Indian
agriculture is one of them. India is mainly a land of villages, Villages depend
on agriculture. But farmers have to face lot of problems. They are uneducated,
They do not know modem methods of farming. Besides, their land is divided
and subdivided into many small pieces. Their cattle are poor and weak.
Moreover, they have to depend on nature for rain. In short, the backward-
ness of Indian agriculture is one of the important causes of famine.
Population Problem-
In India, the population is rising very fast but the rise in food production is not so rapid. So there happens to be the
shortage of food. All this results in famine. Even today there is the food
shortage in some parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. But the government doesnot allow the famine to visit us. There is continuous supply of foodgrains
in drought or flood affected areas.
Get rid of dependence-
We must try to check famine. We got help
from other countries during the times of famine. But it is foolish to depend
on them for food every time. At the same time it is worse to go on begging
from country to country. We hope our family planning schemes will succeed
in controlling ever rising population. Farmers must be educated to produce
more foodgrains through scientific methods of farming. Irrigation facilities
should be made available to them. There must be sufficient number technical know-hows. Apart from this, man made famine should be stopped. Corruption at all levels should end if famine has to go for ever.
Great calamity for common man-
Famines and drought are great
calamity for common man the tales of their suffering that appeared in the
newspapers were extremely horrifying. Thousands failed to get even one
square meal a day. Many lived on grass, wild roots, and leaves of trees.
Houses, utensils and other necessary articles had to be sold to purchase
food. Several starvation deaths were reported, cattle dead in their thousands.
People had to trudge several miles to get drinking water.
Clock on Anti-social elements---
Anti-social elements took full
advantage of the situation. There was hoarding and profiteering on a mass
scale. It was so very shocking. One cannot describe the suffering of the
children, of the old and invalid. Who could got no milk and medicine and
who thus died a horrible death the anguish of the mothers whose children
died of hunger before their eyes can better be imagined than described the
pictures of these emaciated and starving, people that appeared in the
newspapers told a horrible tale.'
Government's Help-
-However the Government did its best to help these famine stricken people. Famine relief work was given top priority and the administration was geared up to meet the situation food grain was rushed
in large quantities from the neighbouring states. Food and fodder was also rushed by the government to different parts of the country on an emergency basis Food as distributed free to the needy, countless kitchen worked roundthe clock. Many lives were thus saved and much suffering avoided.
Permanent measures-
Some permanent measures to avoid the recurrence of much calamities were also taken in hand. The digging of Kuchcha wells and canals and the construction of tube wells, was taken up on war fooling. This provided work to many people who were unemployed.or underemployed. Thousands of wells thus were dug within no time.
Conclusion-
Many states of the country are frequently in grip of famine.The Government does its best. But the only permanent solution.of farming lies in scientific farming. The youth of the country can do much in this connection. Educated young men should go to the villages and try to educate and persuade the farmers to take to scientific farming.