Farmers quit mentha

IT IS back to square one for the farmers of Jalaun district in Uttar Pradesh. Reeling under persistent drought from 2003-08, they were driven to mentha (mint) cultivation that promised good returns. Instead, it increased debts. Cultivation of this water-intensive crop is fast shrinking due to depletion of groundwater and no alternative source of irrigation in drought-prone Bundelkhand region of the state.

Living the report

In March 2004, a group of Dalit women from Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region stood on a stage in a plush Delhi auditorium.

Remains of the day

Until three years ago most people in Bundelkhand wanted to take the next train to Bhopal or Delhi. Today several villages are bereft of people of working age. Bundelkhand, spanning 13 districts in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, has been in the grip of a terrible drought for the past 10 years. Prashanth Vishwanathan captured the desolation Slide Show>>

Chandauli, Mahoba district, Uttar Pradesh

Chandauli, Mahoba district, Uttar Pradesh: There is some use for failed crops. A woman cuts them for her cattle Photograph by: Prashanth Vishwanathan

Seelaum, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh

Seelaum, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh: Sixty-year-old Ram Charan is used to taking solitary walks. He stays with his wife. Ram Charan’s two children, Babloo and Pramod, work as labourers in Delhi. He lost his farmland seven years ago when it was declared a forest area. Ram Charan says, “Who will employ an old man?” Photograph by: Prashanth Vishwanathan

Chandauli, Mahoba district, Uttar Pradesh

Chandauli, Mahoba district, Uttar Pradesh: Basoor’s husband died last year. A slow painful death. The 80-year-old Basoor does not look at you in the eye while recounting how her husband wasted away due to hunger Photograph by: Prashanth Vishwanathan

Pratappura, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh

Pratappura, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh: The fly-ridden roti lies around in 60-year-old Pirbhu’s house. His two elder sons have migrated to Chandigarh to work as stone cutters. They do not send any money home. Pirbhu takes care of the younger two sons. He does not get any employment under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act Photograph by: Prashanth Vishwanathan

Chandauli, Mahoba district, Uttar Pradesh

Chandauli, Mahoba district, Uttar Pradesh: Abandoned livestock roam freely. They are too expensive to maintain. With no fodder, the animals quickly meet the inevitable end Photograph by: Prashanth Vishwanathan

Seelaum village, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh

Seelaum village, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh: Razi Wasoor is bedridden in the Harijan colony. The 85- year-old is blind and suffers several diseases. Her children labour in Kashmir as stone cutters and have not been home for three years. When Razi needs help, she calls out aloud until some passerby responds. She is not registered for old age pension Photograph by: Prashanth Vishwanathan

Pratappura village, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh

Pratappura village, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh: Creepers have made this house their home. It has been abandoned for four-five years. People have left the village to work elsewhere Photograph by: Prashanth Vishwanathan