Drought is among the most
serious problems this country faces. The Government
spent crores of rupees on
emergency measures to combat drought. And yet, these
measures often do not reach
many people.
Madnapur: When I visited
Madnapur in August this year, it was clear that
basic
problems remained the same. An
elderly woman, Ramullamma, shared her
experiences of living with
drought (and relief). Season after season, drought
recurs.
During the past four years our
lives have worsened. Officials come and go year
after
year to see the drought and
the misery it brings to our lives, but our life goes
on.
This year 7 out of 10 bore
wells dried up. Day and night, villagers are armed
with
pots and buckets to draw water
from the 3 hand pumps –thirsty mouths in search of
drinking water. We are hit by
a lack of credit, a collapse in local employment,
crop
failures, rising debt and loss
of food security. A drought in the district has
exacerbated these problems.
Hard though it is, our struggle continues for a life
to
go on. Migration in search of
opportunities is the only recourse available to us.
