The farmers in Bundelkhand have reason to rejoice as the monsoon arrived on time this June in the region for the first time in nearly a decade. The landscape has turned verdant as farmers sow seeds and children jump in ponds that have filled up after years.
Farmers in Bundelkhand faced a famine-like situation after deficient rainfall in 2014 and 2015, but that is not all.
The region, spread over 70,000 sq km and straddling 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, has faced an unending spell of natural disasters – continuous drought between 2003 and 2010, floods in 2011, a late monsoon and deficit rain in 2012 and 2013; and then the droughts in 2014 and 2015.
Experts however warn that the plentiful rain by itself is no solution, and if people don’t learn their lessons, the drought is just a summer away.
(Source: LiveMint)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)