Palamu, Jharkhand:
Several districts in Jharkhand are crippled by a drought for the second year in a row. The condition is much worse this year as for the last one month, villages of Chainpur, Chattarpur and Lesliganj in Jharkhand's Palamu district have not seen a single drop of rain.
The state government has declared all the 24 districts drought-hit but schemes for subsidized foodgrain and alternative employment are mostly on paper.
Forced by the upheaval, distressed farmers in the state are resorting to the most desperate measures to stay afloat. Due to an acute shortage of fodder, many of them are even parting with their most prized possession - their cattle.
"Cattle population was good here. Thousands of cattle were found in one area but due to lack of fodder, farmers are selling off their cattle," said farmer Ramu Prasad of Chainpur village.
The state's newly appointed Chief Minister, Arjun Munda, tried to pacify the famers' fears, "We would like to assure farmers that we are taking all possible steps to help them, and I will meet people in Delhi to try and secure all possible help," he said.
However, people in the drought-hit villages still await concrete actions and steps to tackle the situation - something that has not happened till now.