India started a massive relief programme yesterday, sending food, animal feed and water to the western states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, where millions have been hit by an ongoing drought.
Government minister Shanta Kumar said there was sufficient grain stocks to weather the crisis. The UN World Food Programme also said it would release 1,500 tonnes of grain for four drought-hit districts of Rajasthan, which will be distributed under food-for-work schemes. Three other states - Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa - are also suffering from dire water shortages.
The crisis is a reminder of India's stubborn development problems, despite a vibrant economy and a software boom. Livestock deaths and migration of rural inhabitants have been reported in Gujarat and Rajasthan, but so far no human deaths have been linked to the drought.
Ms Sohini Sengupta, who has worked on projects of the aid agency, Oxfam, in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Orissa, said in a recent report on drought that 19 per cent of India's total area, with 12 per cent of its population, is considered drought-prone. "Critical changes in agricultural practices . . . have ushered in intensive irrigation and promoted water-hungry crops," she said. "This has phased out traditional crop mixes with inherent drought-proofing mechanisms to survive fluctuations in rainfall."