Bengaluru: Staring at a severe drought second year running, Karnataka is looking to the Central Government to bail it out with disaster relief funds of Rs 3,300 crores. This is for the rabi crop, and is besides the ask of Rs 4,700 crores for the kharif crop that failed.
The southern State is parched unlike ever before in the last four decades, with a rainfall deficit of 40 to 70 percent in the last six months.
Of the 176 talukas in the State, 160 have been declared drought-hit. There is not a single district that has at least one or two talukas that are affected. Capital Bengaluru too is looking at a drinking water crisis over the next two months, with authorities planning curbs on water supply if the situation doesn't improve.
"We have enough water till May, but we want to tell people to not waste, to save water. If required, we will restrict supply to industries first, as drinking water will be a priority," said Bangalore Development Minister K J George.
Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board officials said they could look at rationing of water supply to different areas in May, but for the next two months, they are looking at reviving old borewells and ensuring regular supply to all areas of the booming city.
Efforts are on to restrict release of the mandatory 2,000 cusecs of water from the Cauvery river to neighbouring Tamil Nadu -- the State government has already told the Cauvery Water-sharing Supervisory Committee that it will no longer be able to comply with this release of water as mandated by the Supreme Court. Throwing up its hands, Karnataka has told the Central committee that releasing any more water will mean dipping into dead storage levels of the dams fed by this river -- and that cannot be allowed.
While four cropping seasons have seen successive droughts across the State, there are about 30 talukas which have seen a drought fifth year running, says Agriculture Minister Krishna ByreGowda.
"The impact of consecutive droughts tends to be more than a stand-alone drought. Crops are affected, livelihoods are affected and droughts also have an impact on the minds of the farmers," ByreGowda told News18.
While the rabi crop usually sees about 35 lakh hectares under cultivation, sowing took place in only about 25 lakh hectares this season. In this, production has come down by over 50 percent, and farmers in distress are even sending their cattle to temporary go-shalas set up by the government as they are unable to care for the animals. Fodder banks too have been set up to give subsidised fodder to farmers in about 90 places. In over 500 villages where there is no drinking water, tankers are supplying water on a weekly basis.
"The Centre has sanctioned only 1,700 crores against our demand of 4,700 crores. Of this, only Rs 450 crores have been released. This was in October, we are now in March. If amounts are transferred to farmers in time, during a crisis, it will be of some use to them. Once crisis is passed, it won't be of much use to them. Karnataka is one of the few States facing a drought this season -- and it is acute. We expect more agility from the Centre in its response," ByreGowda said.
Farmers' groups like the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) also feel the drought is man-made -- that the deficit in rainfall is caused by environmental damage caused by big projects.
"People tend to think that a drought affects the farmers. That's wrong. A drought affects all those who eat -- so, all of us. We are all stake-holders in this, don't just think of it as a farmers' problem, it's all our problem," said KRRS leader K S Puttannaiah, who is also an MLA from the Cauvery-belt.
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