In the chronically drought-hit Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh where natural rainfall over the past four years has been scarce, causing a severe drinking water and agrarian crisis, creating artificial rain through cloud seeding with the help of small airplanes is being seen as a viable alternative to obviate the people's miseries. A similar experiment has yielded satisfactory results in Andhra Pradesh.

At a time when the Chief Minister and other ministers are praising the rain gods for regular showers and releasing thanksgiving advertisements, the rain shadow areas development department (RSAD) claims that its efforts have paid rich dividends. Impressed by the "work" done by the private aviation company M/s Agni Aviation, the government has decided to continue the cloud seeding operation in the drought-prone areas of the state for another five years, from 2008-09. But no scientific data is available so far that could clearly prove the impact of cloud seeding.

Sitting in the lush garden of his swanky bungalow, Chandrakant Sanghavi, who runs a Rs 500-crore diamond cutting unit, yells to his gardener not to waste water.

THE Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's Golden Jubilee Museum located in Dehra Dun is a big hit with schoolchildren and tourists.

Madhya Pradesh government has sought assistance of Rs 1548.91 crore from the Central government for drought relief works. A memorandum in this regard was presented to a central team, which has arrived here to assess the drought situation in the state at meeting with senior officers of the state government here today.

The problem this year is more acute and many are migrating to towns owing to financial problems occasioned by the drought- Anil Gulati Chhatarpur is one of the 37 districts of Madhya Pradesh, which are reeling under a water crisis and facing drought. This is winter and the worst is yet to come - the summer is yet to set in.

The last five years have been tough on 55-year old Saraswati Devi. Her two sons have left their village to work as construction workers in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh (mp). The family's one hectare

The present study analyses viable methods of rainwater harvesting in drought-prone Bolangir and examines different bio-physical and socio-economic factors that influence the performance and sustainability of the water harvesting structures (WHSs). The study reveals that the traditional WHSs have proved to be extremely useful not only in normal years but also in water-scarce years.

The eastern Indian state of Orissa will turn to a mass of barren and desert like lands in another 150 years, warned Water Initiatives Orissa (WIO). Many parts of Orissa, specifically the western and southern uplands, have developed symptoms of desertification; they have further degraded from drought prone to desert prone areas.

Changes in local ecology and economy have a direct impact on food security for the poor

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