The government’s drought relief programmes are bound to fail in the long run. Even the Planning Commission acknowledges that funds for the drought relief is becoming illegal income for officials, politicians and contractors

Employment Guarantee Scheme, first of its kind drought relief scheme has had no impact on the drought-prone areas of Maharashtra in almost 30 years because it has failed to involve people in managing rural assets

Revisits by Down To Earth reporters to villages that undertook water harvesting offer some valuable lessons in drought management

The need of the hour is to decentralise drought management and think long term

Saara adivasis in Orissa have undertaken measures to conserve forest wealth

About 80 tropical cyclones (with wind speeds equal to or greater than 35 knots) form in the world’s waters every year. Of these about 6.5% develop in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. Since the frequency of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal is about 5 to 6 times the frequency of those in the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal's share comes out to be about 5.5%. The tropical cyclones forming in the Bay of Bengal hit the coast of India (particularly the states of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal) every year, causing heavy loss of life and property.