India

Indian Government Prepares to Transport Water, Fodder to 11 States
Associated Press, April 27, 2000

Drought conditions, or prolonged periods of dryness leading to crop failure, exist in 11 of India's 25 states affecting 80 million people, mostly in the northern half of India, the national government said in a status report published Thursday. It warned that food grain production will drop by up to 30 percent, and oil seed crops will be cut in half in some of the worst hit areas. ... According to the national government, 26.2 million people in Rajasthan are affected by the drought in 23,406 villages. More than 345,000 cattle are facing food shortages, but many were dying of thirst first. The national government said in its status report that 25 million people in 19,421 villages in Gujarat state have been affected by the drought, and 7 million cattle face food shortages because of failing crops. In Andhra Pradesh, the drought has affected 36.4 million people in 17,431 villages, the government said. Endangered crops include maize, peanuts, sunflowers, castor beans and sugar cane. Other states affected by water shortages and crop damage are Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

India Pepper Prices Seen Rising on Lowr Crop
Reuters, July 18, 2000

An anticipated fall in the 2000/2001 (April-March) crop by about 10 percent from last year's level is likely to push up Indian pepper prices, farmers said on Tuesday. The 2000/01 crop is seen lower because the pepper spikes - small shoots on pepper vines out of which the pepper berry emerges -- have been forming erratically or falling off.

Floods Kill 85 People and Wash Away Crops in South India
Reuters, August 24, 2000

Eighty-five people have been killed and over a thousands homes destroyed in floods following two days of heavy rain in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, officials said on Thursday. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu told state legislators that the situation was grim in three districts - Guntur, Prakasam and Kurnool. The floods in the south followed a catastrophic monsoon season in north and northeast India, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh, where about 300 are feared dead and millions homeless. Naidu said preliminary reports on Andhra Pradesh showed 500 minor irrigation tanks were breached and 67,351 hectares of paddy and other crops washed away by vast lakes of water. The flood waters destroyed 1,440 houses and damaged a further 1,204 houses. Naidu said the government had sent 132 relief and rescue teams as well as 571 medical teams to the affected districts.