Flooding

I'm sure many of you heard about the somewhat recent terrible flooding in India. One of the most affected areas was the villages surrounding Hubli and Dharwad. Today I had the opportunity to go out into the field to see some of Bhageerath's work and the village that we visited was affected by the flood. Throughout the ride I saw fields and fields of crops (maize, millet, cotton, onions, etc.) that had been flattened by the flooding, and areas where the water still had not dried up. What's worse is that the soil is completely cracked and ruined.


Unfortunately, the Indian government is doing very little in the way of assistance (i.e. providing farmers INR 2,000 for ruined crops that would normally produce INR 60,000). Much of this has led to the aforementioned onion farmer strike (see post "Day One"). Still, there are many non-profits attempting to alleviate the impact. What I wonder is what happens a few years from now when farmers are producing low quality crops because their soil is so poor.


But there's nothing else for them to do besides move on. Many of them were clearing out their ruined crops, removing waste from the fields, and re-plowing the soil with their bullocks. It's sowing season now and all the farmers are picking up the pieces and looking towards the future. I wish I had brought a camera so that you see what they're up against.