PMK leader S. Ramadoss on Sunday wanted Tamil Nadu to be declared drought-hit, as it was going through a period of severe crisis following the failure of South West monsoon and failure of Karnataka to release Cauvery water for Kuruvai cultivation.

He also wanted the State to waive crop loans and land tax, besides taking steps to increase days from 100 to 300 covered by the rural employment guarantee scheme.

The 2012 drought will dent farm profits and push up food prices

2,407 out of 2,449 tanks are completely dry and wells have very little water

With the dry spell continuing in the district and the storage level in the major reservoirs going down alarmingly due to poor precipitation in the catchment areas, farmers have appealed to the State Government to declare Tirunelveli as ‘drought-hit district’ and provide adequate relief to save the agriculturists. Making this appeal in the monthly farmers’ grievance day meeting held at the Collectorate on Friday, R. Kasamuthu, secretary, Tirunelveli District Farmers’ Association, said 2,407 of the 2,449 irrigation tanks in the district were bone-dry while the wells had water sufficient for only 15 to 20 minutes pumping.

From now on, damage to crops due to extreme cold or frost will be considered a natural calamity and the affected farmers will be eligible for financial relief from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) or the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

The Union Cabinet at a meeting here on Thursday approved the recommendation of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Drought to this effect.So far, crops damaged in natural calamities such as drought, floods, cyclone, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslip, avalanche, cloudburst and pest attack were eligible for relief under the SDRF and NDRF.

Washington The United States is facing “worst drought” in 25 years which could fuel food price inflation in the country, a top Obama Administration official said here.

As many as 61% of the land mass of the United States is currently being characterised as being impacted by this drought, the agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, told reporters at a White House news conference, noting that this drought is having an impact in crops. “78% of the corn crop is now in an area designated as drought impacted; 77% of the soyabeans that are being grown in this country also impacted.

Scientists aided by supercomputers are trying to unravel one of Mother Nature's biggest mysteries -- the vagaries of the summer monsoon rains that bring life, and sometimes death, to India every year.

In a first-of-its-kind project, Indian scientists aim to build computer models that would allow them to make a quantum leap in predicting the erratic movements of the monsoon. If successful, the impact would be life-changing in a country where 600 million people depend on farming for their livelihoods and where agriculture contributes 15 percent to the economy. The monsoon has been dubbed by some as India's "real finance minister".

Karnataka on Tuesday sought interim relief of over Rs. 2,000 crore from the Centre to deal with deficient Monsoon rains leading to acute scarcity of drinking water and fodder in the state.

"We explained about drought-like situation in Karnataka. We have asked Centre's help. We have requested interim relief of over Rs. 2,000 crore," state Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar told reporters after meeting with Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar here.

With more intense heat on the way, the USA is in the middle of its worst drought in more than 55 years, data released Monday by the National Climatic Data Center show.

America declared a natural disaster in more than 1,000 drought-stricken counties in 26 states on Thursday.