Project Title:                Drought Relief Aid for Hunsur and Chowkur, South India

Development Agency:  Central Tibetan Relief Committee

                                Central Tibetan Administration

                                Gangchen Kyishong

                                Dharamsala- 176215

                                HP, India

Email:         nangsi@gov.tibet.net

Tel:   91-1892-222214/222412

Fax:  91-1892-225065

Website: http://www.tibet.net/eng/home/

Details of Bank Account: Central Tibetan Relief Committee                      

   Account # 01100055034

   State Bank of India

   Kotwali Bazaar

   District Kangra

   H.P INDIA.

Total Budget:             Rs. 11,728,831 or US$ 249,600

Year of Application:     2002

Drought Relief Appeal for Hunsur and Chowkur Tibetan Settlements

Introduction

Tibetan settlements of Hunsur Rabgayling and Chowkur camps of Dekyilarsoe both located in Mysore district of Karnataka State in southern India together have a total population of 4500 Tibetan refugees who primarily depend on rain-fed farming for their livelihood.  However, a devastating drought in the months of June to July this year, which occurred in most parts of India, has dashed all hope of getting any crops from the cultivated area of 1922 acres of the two settlements. Chowkur camps which has total cultivated area of 307 acres were sown with maize and Hunsur settlement which has cultivated area of 1570 acres have been sown with 660 acres of cotton, 880 acres of maize and 30 acres of pulses. 

The monsoon started on time with good amount of rains across these affected areas. This fortuitous beginning delighted the farmers to no bounds and greatly raised their hope for reaping bountiful harvests at the end of the year.  They started their cultivation and sowing with right earnest investing huge amounts in farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, manure, tractors and of course lot of labors. However, this seemingly good onset proves more than illusion.  With some otherwise occasional drizzling, throughout the months of June and July, there were no meaningful and useful rains.  The land parched under the impact of long spells of drought.  The entire fields of maize, cotton and other crops shriveled and withered away in front of their eyes.  Some plants, which were able to survive, just manage to grow not more than two feet in two months, indicating the severity of the drought.

The Settlement Officers and the respective village leaders have conducted a thorough crop loss assessment by visiting all the cultivated fields and reported that 100% of maize crops and 75% of the cotton crops have been lost.  South Zone Development Coordinator, Bangalore and subsequently the Secretary of CTRC who visited the affected settlements in August confirmed their findings.  

The net investment loss incurred by the farmers are as given below:

Settlements	Crops	Acreage	Input costs	Labor and other expenses	Total Investment cost
Chowkur	Maize	307	537,785	460,500	998,285
Dekyilarsoe	Maize	876	2,491,046	2,337,000	4,828,046
	Cotton	656
	Others	26
		1865	3,028,831	2,797,500	5,826,331

Projected income loss due to drought as given below:

Type of crops	Total cropped area	Avg. yield per acre	Projected Total Yield	Avg. Price per quintal	Projected Income	Projected Income loss
Maize	1183	15 qtls.	17,745 qtls.	Rs.500	Rs.8, 872,500	Rs.8,872,500 (100% loss)
Cotton	656	600 kgs	393,600 Kgs.	Rs.22/Kg	Rs.8, 659,200	Rs.6,494,400  (75% loss)
Others	26				Rs.15,000	Rs.10,000
Total						Rs.15,366,900

The farmers have not only lost their crops but the drought has left most of them debt ridden as they have taken loans from local banks and the settlement Co-operative Society for the purchase of farm inputs.  This is a major problem faced by all farmers of these settlements.

Objectives

The main purpose of the drought relief program for Hunsur and Chowkur Camps is to provide immediate relief aids to the affected families and to provide adequate financial and material aids to recover their investment losses so that they would be freed from bondage of indebtedness.

The specific objectives of the program are:

a)     To provide relief to the affected families and to repay the loans taken by the settlers from the cooperative societies and the other lending institutions for farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and tractor ploughing

b)     To provide monthly subsistence assistance to some of poorest 350 families affected by the drought

c)      To assist the most needy and poorest among them in purchasing farm inputs for cultivation of crops in the next year

Budget Estimate

1.      Relief aids for Repayment of Crop Loans
Settlements		Crops	Acreage	Investment made on farm inputs					Total
				Seeds	Fertilizers		Tractor Hiring
Chowkur Camps, Dekyilarsoe		Maize	307	41,881	212,856		97,740		537,785
Rabgyaling settlement, Hunsur	Maize		876	427,324	1,336,857	726,865		2,491,046
	Cotton		656
	Others		26
			1865					3,028,831
2. Subsistence relief aids to 350 poorest families of 5 members avg.  @ Rs. 1500 per month for one year								6,300,000
3.  Cost of providing inputs for 350 poorest families holding 1200 acres @ Rs. 2000/acre								2,400,000
Total Budget of the Drought Relief Program								11,728,831

On account of this unprecedented drought, the Central Tibetan Relief Committee would like to appeal to all the friends and well wishers to make generous contribution for providing relief aids to the drought affected families of Hunsur and Chowkur Tibetan Settlements.  Your small donations will make difference of life and death to these affected people.   Any donation is appreciated.

Organizational Information:

Central Tibetan Administration: 

Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (CTA), which is the de facto Tibetan government in exile, is headquartered at Dharamsala, a hill station in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India.   The CTA consists of Judiciary with the office of Chief Justice Commission, Legislature in the form Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies and Executive with eight members Cabinet headed by an elected Chairman.   Assembly of Tibetan People Deputies or Tibetan Parliament in exile has 46 members with exception of three; the people directly elect all other members for term of five years. Kashag or Cabinet is the supreme executive body and under it there are seven ministerial departments- Religion, Home, Education, Security, Finance, Information and Health.  CTA has also three autonomous institutions for Audit, Personnel and Election.

Central Tibetan Relief Committee:                

Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC) is a non-profit development organization working for the welfare and socio-economic development of more than 130,000 Tibetan refugees majority of who are living in 53 Tibetan Settlements and other scattered communities in India, Nepal and Bhutan.   CTRC is the relief and development wing of Department of Home, Central Tibetan Administration.   All of CTRC's works proceed with the wishes and blessing of His Holiness the Dalai Lama as its permanent chairman and approval of the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies.

CTRC is a registered charitable organization under the Indian Societies Registration Act of 1860 and with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India under Foreign Currency Regulation Act (FCRA).

Contact Address:

Executive Secretary

Central Tibetan Relief Committee

Dharamsala - 176215

District Kangra

H.P, India

Tel:   +91-1892-222214/222412

Fax: +91-1892-225065

Email:       nangsi@gov.tibet.net

website: http://www.tibet.net/eng/home/

Bank A/c Details:       

Central Tibetan Relief Committee

Account # 01100055034.

State Bank of India (Bank code # 0634).

Kotwali Bazar, Dharamsala. H.P. India

Bank Swift Code Address:

SBI NI NBBA 186 (JALANDHAR, PUNJAB)