These Farmers Have Crafty Fixes to Beat Tamil Nadu’s Drought

https://thewire.in/144432/tamil-nadu-drought-sustainable-farming/

 

As Tamil Nadu faces one of its worst droughts, farmers and experts in the state share some organic, low-cost hacks.

Back in 1975, when I first visited a farm land in India, there was an old lady who came huffing and puffing, gesturing towards me. At first, I could not understand what she meant. Then I realised she was shooing me away. I had entered her farm, with my chappals (slippers) on. Since then, I have been walking barefoot in this land.” These are the words of Bernard Declercq, a Belgium-born farmer working in India.

In late 2015, Chennai and most of Tamil Nadu battled unprecedented rains and floods. Two years later, the state is fighting the most intense drought it has faced in 140 years. There are reports of increasing farmer suicides in the state. Some even held a series of protests in the capital demanding that the Centre waive their loans and interlink national rivers.

Poverty Is the Greatest Polluter: Remembering Indira Gandhi’s Stirring Speech in Stockholm

 https://thewire.in/144555/indira-gandhi-nature-pollution/