Bengaluru: If the occasional deluge in Bengaluru is flooding the streets and making life miserable, don’t blame it on a bountiful monsoon.
Karnataka is facing a grim situation with drought looming large and 98 taluks in 26 districts declared drought affected. Rainfall in 16 of the 30 districts in July-August was only 22-64 per cent of the normal figure. More worrisome is the fact that the water levels in 13 major reservoirs including the mighty KRS dam in Mandya do not measure up to the levels recorded last year. Bengaluru and Mysuru districts get a major proportion of their water requirements from KRS.
Districts like Vijayapura, Raichur, Yadgir, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi and Bidar have received only half the normal rainfall in July-August. Farmers are the worst hit with agricultural activity not picking up and the crop drying up in many places.
To address the situation on a war footing, the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday decided to concentrate on providing drinking water first.
So concerned is the government that it has decided to keep the Dasara celebrations low-key this year. While Chamundeshwari Puja, puja in Mysuru Palace and the famed Jamboo Savari will take place as usual, the costs will be cut, Mr Jayachandra said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is planning to take an all-party delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon demanding his intervention to resolve the row over the Kalsa-Banduri project which will bring water to parched districts in north Karnataka.
“We will also urge the PM to help resolve the severe crisis which farmers especially cane growers are facing,” Mr Siddaramaiah said in Belagavi after meeting the family of a farmer who committed suicide.
