Thar Desert Rajasthan is a major opium production and consumption area. The Indira Gandhi Canal irrigates northwestern Rajasthan while the Government of India has started a centrally sponsored Desert Development Program based on watershed management with the objective of preventing the spread of desert and improving the living conditions of people in the desert. In the last 15–20 years, the Rajasthan desert has seen many changes, including a manifold increase of both the human and animal population. Animal husbandry has become popular due to the difficult farming conditions. At present, there are ten times more animals per person in Rajasthan than the
Lost in the Desert shot in two versions, one in Afrikaans and the other in English. The Afrikaans version appeared in 1969 under the title "Dirkie", and the English version appeared in either 1969 or 1970 (possibly varying according to country) under the title "Dirkie Lost in the Desert", which was sometimes referred to and marketed as "Lost in the Desert", which is possibly an alternative official title for the English version. The film was released on DVD in 2005 (copyright 1999), and this disc contains both versions of the film, selectable from the front menu. The English version is about 70 minutes long,