already under way and August falls in the middle of the kharif season, when crops such as rice, pulses, cotton, and oilseeds depend on sustained soil moisture through their critical growth stages. Persistent or recurring dry spells at this point can lower yields even if the season’ s total rainfall looks normal on average.
The total area sown under kharif crops stood at 1,086.31 lakh hectares as of September 4, down 17.69 lakh hectares from the corresponding period last year, affected by a sharp decline in rice coverage, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Rice coverage stood at 421.82 lakh hectares, compared with 438.19 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year, marking a decline of 16.37 lakh hectares. The overall decline in kharif coverage was partly offset by higher sowing of pulses. Area under total pulses rose to 117.13 lakh hectares from 115.30 lakh hectares a year ago, an increase of 1.84 lakh hectares.
Maize coverage declined by 2.99 lakh hectares to 91.09 lakh hectares, while bajra area increased by 1.99 lakh hectares to 64.86 lakh hectares. Oilseed coverage also fell, standing at 191.99 lakh hectares against 193.06 lakh hectares a year earlier. Sugarcane coverage stood at 58.47 lakh hectares, down 0.40 lakh hectares from last year, while cotton coverage declined by 0.69 lakh hectares to 109.17 lakh hectares.
The risk is particularly significant for farmers who have already had a delayed start to the season and now face uneven rainfall during the crop-growth period. Scientists tracking the situation say the drought may also carry into the rabi season that follows, through its effect on groundwater used for irrigation.
Karthikeyan Lanka, associate professor at IIT Bombay, told Down To Earth that researchers are seeing an unusual“ swing” in drought conditions. A location can remain 26
AN IMPORTANT PROBLEM CONCERNING THE LEADERS’ STYLE OF WORK
- ZHOU ENLAI
When comrades have shortcomings in their ideology and their work style, instead of rejecting them, we must have faith in them and try hard to help them make progress. This is Comrade Mao Zedong’ s style of leadership. We must have a basic estimate of each of our comrades, which means knowing whether or not he is basically trustworthy. If there is enough evidence that he is not, the Party should be wary of him and reject him. If he is, then however n umerous his mistakes, or however defective his ideology and work style, the Party should trust him, and at the same time criticize his mistakes and help him improve his style. Since such comrades are basically sound, though their mistakes may be many or serious, we should trust them and help them as much as we can. We should not treat them coldly or ignore them. Otherwise, the leaders will not be in a position to criticize their mistakes and will find themselves in an awkward position. A good leader must unite with comrades whom he dislikes and is reluctant to associate with. Then he should work hard to help them, commending their good points and criticizing the bad. Only in this way can he remould them while improving his own leadership.
under drought for a week or two, briefly move out of drought after a rainfall event, and then slip back into drought soon after.
There has been a pattern where rain does fall— sometimes heavily— but doesn’ t translate into sustained root-zone moisture.“ Momentarily soil will be wet, but then there will be long dry periods,” Lanka said. During these dry spells, infiltration is followed by evaporation and plant transpiration, causing soil moisture to fall again.
For agriculture, the immediate concern is the ongoing kharif season.“ There may be crop yield loss in kharif,” Lanka said.
There is also a less visible risk to groundwater. If farmers increase groundwater pumping to compensate for inadequate rainfall and meet kharif crop water requirements, groundwater reserves could come under additional stress, with consequences for the rabi season.
“ Considering droughts to persist in the these regions, adaptation and contingency planning for rabi
( It is from Volume-1 page no: 320), February 5, 1948
may need to begin now, particularly around crop choice, sowing windows, irrigation, and water availability,” the IIT Bombay forecast noted.
The impact of this drought in the country will plunge agriculture and farming into a severe crisis. As a result, there is a shortage of food grains and food products leading to skyrocketing prices and starvation to death. There is also a situation where there is not even water to drink, and there is already a severe shortage of water in many areas, especially in cities. On the other hand, land, resources, minerals, forests and natural resources are being handed over to imperialists and corporates, causing environmental destruction. The central and state governments have been left without any measures or solutions to deal with the drought pandemic. Therefore, all the people have to unite and fight against the actions and policies of the government that are causing the famine as well as the negligent attitude of the ruling class to eradicate the drought epidemic. �
Class Struggle