Drought Caused Rs 30K Crore Loss In Karnataka: Revenue Minister

BENGALURU: The loss owing to drought in Karnataka is estimated to be Rs 30,000 crore, said Minister for Revenue Krishna Byregowda and stated that Karnataka is the first State in the country to declare drought affected areas this season while about 15 States also face deficit rainfall this season.

At a press conference in Bengaluru after meeting Central team which is in Karnataka on a four-day visit to assess drought situation, Krishna Byregowda said owing to weak monsoon this season, the State had recorded 28 percent deficit rainfall and Karnataka not only declared drought affected taluks but also submitted drought memorandum to the Central Government seeking relief.

He was hopeful that the Central Government would render justice to the State and 26 MPs belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party from Karnataka would also exert pressure on the Central Government to get adequate funds released to Karnataka to tackle drought situation.

The Revenue Minister said that the Central team to assess drought in Karnataka were happy with the drought memorandum submitted to the Central Government but have said that the rainfall details differed between the details submitted by Karnataka and to that of Indian Meteorological Department.

On rainfall recordings in Karnataka, the Minister said “We have automated telemetric stations functioning in every gram panchayat and as many as 6,500 automated telemetric stations have been linked to satellites and there are no manual operations involved in gauging rainfall.” Adding, he said, “The rainfall gauging in Karnataka is accurate and reliable.”

Other than rainfall details, the Minister said the Central team expressed satisfaction over the details furnished to them by officials concerned.

Minister for Cooperation Rajanna said Rs 20 crore has been released to the department of animal husbandry to tackle fodder crisis and in areas where there is drinking water scarcity tankers have been pressed into service to cater to the needs of the people.

Rajanna stated that “Drought would be handled effectively in the State.”