Prolonged periods of dryness hits Jamnagar

By Rory McCarthy

JAMNAGAR, India: The dusty wasteland stretching out from the village is brown and barren. "These are our fields," said Jay Salaya, a cattle farmer, pointing in despair. "This is where we usually grow our crops and that is for the cows and buffaloes."

There are no crops and no cattle. In the village of Bead, on the outskirts of Jamnagar in western Gujarat, the cakes of soil crumble in your hands and disappear into the burning wind.

On the other side of the village, women dressed in the brightest red, gold and green saris lower black plastic bags on ropes over a brick well to try to scoop up what is left of the water.

"That well is 100 years old," said Salaya. "It is the only one for the village but now the water is no good. It is too dirty. We haven't had enough rain here for three years. The government started to build a water tank for us five years ago but it was never done."

Drought conditions, or prolonged periods of dryness leading to crop failure, are affecting close to 80 million people in 11 states, the government said in a report published on Thursday. The worst hit areas are here in Gujarat and in nearby Rajasthan, both on the border with Pakistan.

India's prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has announced a 9.5 billion rupee (US$210) relief package and asked for public donations to help. But he faces growing criticism over his government's failure to predict and prepare for the worsening crisis.

For the farmers the drought came as no surprise. They have been warning of impending water shortages in the worst affected areas for more than six months.

It has not rained in Rajasthan or in some areas of Gujarat for three years. As a result, the water table has gradually been drained, and only limited monsoon rains are forecast for mid- June.

For drinking water the villagers around Jamnagar rely on a government tanker which stops nearby two or three times a week and empties water into a trough. As dusk falls crowds of people walk towards the town to meet the tanker. Some carry tin pots on their heads, while others tie bags to their bicycles.

Farmers walk all day to find water for their cattle. The animals are thin, their hides stretched tight over their bones.

"We have to walk or go by bicycle to get our water," said Bindi, a 16-year-old girl living in another village nearby.

"Sometimes it takes one or two hours. What else can we do? The animals are dying. Many of the people are going to the city to look for water."

At least two people -- a father and his seven-year-old daughter -- have died of starvation, after collapsing near their village in Gujarat on Tuesday. Last week three farmers were shot dead by police near Jamnagar following protests over the water shortage.

Government officials have tried to play down the effects of the drought, which is bringing drastic economic and social dislocation to the lives of the millions of farmers, who have been forced to sell their cattle or watch them die in the heat.

Many of them are already heavily in debt and now face a lifetime of dependence on outside aid.

"It is all about economics. We are a backward class," said Gadvi Mega, a teacher from another village."We have one source for water and that is the rain. When it does not rain, we are without water. Now we have a big problem and people are very angry."

"Why don't the politicians come to visit our village?" he asked. "We are very worried."

There is a division of wealth in this drought. From the air it is clear that whole swathes of Gujarat's land have been baked brown. But there are sporadic pockets of green, signaling areas owned by private farmers wealthy enough to afford their own deep boreholes to keep their crops alive.

Gujarat is a vital agricultural supplier, producing a third of India's cotton and peanuts as well as grain, oilseed, maize, sunflowers and sugar cane.

So far the water shortage has not hurt the towns. Jamnagar is still crowded with traffic, its fruit and vegetable markets are still full of produce and the Apollo Circus is in town.

But the city's beautiful Ranmal lake, which surrounds the small Lakhota Palace, is dry. Teams of workers, using private and state funds, have been digging the lake deeper, hoping it will conserve more water when the rains return.

"If the monsoon rains do not come then there will be trouble for Jamnagar city as well," said Satesh, a shopkeeper.

-- Guardian News Service