MAY 16-31, 2000 | DROUGHT - A POLITICAL DROUGHT

Drought in India is a human-perpetuated crisis

- ANIL AGARWAL

DURING ONE of the meetings of the World Water Commission, which recently submitted its report in The Hague to a bevy of water ministers, a member had strongly emphasised the need for educating politicians about the importance of water. I, however, found that argument incorrect because I have rarely met a politician, especially in India, who will not emphasise the importance of water. The real problem is that hardly any of them know how to solve the water problem. Teaching them is difficult.