Article Details - Anglo-Indians (Rajasthan)

Details for Article #11
2016-Apr-01 April Fool! (H. Chapman) Desc: Wanderings
April Fool!
… … in continuation… …
Hello, there!
This is in continuation of my NY resolution… please refer to the article (“AN”) I wrote for New Year's Day, 2016. [BIG/small screen version]
In that I ended up talking about Al Gore and Global Warming — and presenting an anti-view which, I suspect, is far more popular than most people admit to.
Here as a follow-up I just make a quick mention of a very recent (07 March, 2016 08:32:20PM) news item:
HEADLINE: More than 100 farmers in Maharashtra sought suicide clearance, Govt tells Rajya Sabha
That's right… farmers in the Indian state of Maharashtra (Wardha district) are seeking governmental permission to commit suicide!
Two straight years of drought have broken the morale of the farmers who see no way out of their predicament except suicide.
Harsh as it may sound my opinion is that we're still playing by the rules, we're still being civil and law-abiding… five years from now the farmers won't be asking for permission to commit suicide — they'll simply take the law into their own hands and do whatever it takes to make sure that they and their family survive until the morrow.
Even as I write this instalment another news item (datelined Mar 31, 2016 02 08 PM IST — that's today (or yesterday as the date has rolled over)) informs me that the district administration of Latur (again, a place in Maharashtra) has advised educational institutions to prepone or curtail the annual examinations so that at least 50,000 pupils can return to their homes in the surrounding villages. The problem there is that there is just no drinking water for the people of Latur.
HEADLINE: Early end to academic year to de-populate drought-hit town
Just. No. Drinking. Water.
And the district administration has already imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code — a police order that prohibits more than 5 persons collecting in a public place. This has been done to preempt rioting over the distribution of water which the district administration is transporting through truck-borne water tankers as well as by water trains.

People are already muttering and grumbling that certain politicos and people with clout are diverting these water tankers to their own areas.
So the writing is on the wall — water wars!
Again I'll present an anti-view — and again I'm equally sure that this anti-view is far more popularly held that any one would care to admit to.
The fact is that this water scarcity and low food production has been brought upon ourselves by ourselves!
I'm surrounded by people who praise and glorify our glorious agrarian tradition. What they don't realise is that tradition is good only if it is sustainable and suitable for our purpose.
The majority of farmers go in for open-field cultivation and flood irrigation — that is, they plough the fields and broadcast the seeds randomly. Then they flood the field with water. This they do periodically according to the crop and the age of the crop. Now what happens is that the water is not distributed evenly — the channels tend to soak the water in varying measure according to the nature of the soil that varies from spot to spot. Then, when the water does reach the seed (or seedling or plant) it just goes down in to the soil. So the major portion of the water is wasted! Moreover, the irrigation water is often used as a carrier for fertilisers and growth formulations. First of all, considering the quantity of water involved, the amount of these formulations is also very high. Secondly, these formulations percolate through the soil down to the water table and contaminate the ground water in that area! So this is a double whammy! We're wasting water and we're poisoning the water!
First of all, the farmers should convert completely to drip-irrigation. In this the field is not flooded with water and fertilisers and other formulations. Instead water is piped to each plant by individual drippers. The water is emitted a drop at a time usually one drop every 5 minutes (this varies according to the crop species and the age of the crop and the weather). So water is not wasted and the ground water is not contaminated. Hooray!
Yes, installing the drip-irrigation system is costly but really not all that much. The installation usually lasts for 5 years, so the cost of installation is recovered quite comfortably. Maintenance is also an issue but it is very simply done by flushing the pipes and drippers with clean water and an appropriate cleaning agent.
Secondly, as a phase-two action, the farmer should start using troughs for growing. A trough further reduces the quantum of water required for irrigation. Besides the economy of water, a trough protects the plant from soil-borne pests (termites). It also makes sowing more systematic and efficient. The plant does not have to develop deep roots to get water — thus the plant conserves energy and this improves the yield and quality of the produce, not to mention that the plant is healthy and is able to ward off common ailments naturally.
Another thing… the fertilisers and formulations are contained in the trough — they do not contaminate the ground water!
Once again, I have to say that using troughs for cultivation raises the cost of cultivation. However the benefits far outweigh the investment and the farmer can recover the cost quite comfortably.
Thirdly, once the farmer has gained confidence in using drip irrigation and troughs, it is advisable that he graduate to protected environment cultivation (PEC). This means that crops are grown under protection (greenhouse) and not in open fields. A number of crops (e.g. tomatos) can be grown fro seed to harvest in a greenhouse. On the other hand there are some crops that must be transplanted in the open once they attain a certain size or stage. Growing crops in a greenhouse eliminates a lot of problems that plague our crops — infestations by insects, attack by birds and animals, weather damage (frost, hail, sleet). The cost of erecting a greenhouse is offset by the increase in yield and the better prices the crop commands in the market.
Fourthly, I strongly urge every cultivator to go in for hydroponics as a cutivation methodology. Commonly called "soilless" cultivation hydroponics is the intelligent way to grow crops. It is the antithesis of the "traditional" cultivation system so prevalent in most of Asia and Africa. Hydroponics is the technique that will help astronauts grow their own fresh food on the journey to Mars and beyond (whenever that happens!).
The evidence is there for all to see — the traditional cultivation techniques are wasting our valuable natural resources like water and land, and producing insufficient produce. It is high time we realised that it is high time to change our cultivation methodology if we aspire to "food security".
We cannot AFFORD traditional cultivation any longer! Just forget it … while we can! So far we have been talking about "farmer" suicides — traditional cultivation is "national" suicide!Verb. sap.
Flash:
Ten states have been declared drought-affected so far — that number is ready to rise, I'm afraid!
…
…
As a parting shot, I give you another news item (datelined March 31, 2016 12:50 am) related to farmers, drought, suicide, … and politicians:
HEADLINE: Rajasthan farmer says will kill self, minister says ‘go ahead’

Bye for now!
External Links:
LiveMint: More than 100 farmers in Maharashtra sought suicide clearance, Govt tells Rajya Sabha
LiveMint: Early end to academic year to de-populate drought-hit town
Indian Express: Rajasthan farmer says will kill self, minister says ‘go ahead’
The Economic Times: Doctors put off surgeries in drought-hit Marathwada (8 Apr, 2016)
NDTV: Families Abandon Villages In Search Of Water in Bundelkhand's Jhansi (2 Apr, 2016)

Alright, folks! Let's have your inputs on the article!
editor@angloindian.chapmanhilton.com

Want to say something? Just do it...here!
NB - whatever you type here will be posted (after moderation) as near verbatim as possible. So please be wary about mentioning contact details and similar sensitive issues in the body text. We care for your privacy!

April Fool!

Active Sections

Sections under consideration

Sections under consideration