BENGALURU: The members of Legislative Council felt that a drinking water crisis looms large over the state, with many districts already dependent on tanker water supply.
With poor rainfall in state for the last three years, most of the water sources are going dry. The state government’s recent report states that about 60 per cent of water sources in the state have gone dry, and in the remaining 40 per cent sources, 80 per cent of water is not fit for drinking.
During the discussion on drought, a section of members demanded the government to waive farmers’ loans. MLC Srikante Gowda said the loans added up to about Rs 9.978 crore and the government must take a bold decision to waive them.
Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda noted that close to Rs 700 crore was paid to farmers as crop compensation last year. Farmers who had insured their crops got the money.
“The government wants to popularise crop insurance schemes. But the network of DCC banks and some select cooperative societies misinformed farmers about not going for crop insurance. This year there were good signs of rains in June and July, this also made many farmers saying no to crop insurance,” he said.
Drinking water units defunct: Eshwarappa
Leader of Opposition in the Council, K S Eshwarappa said that many of drinking water units in the state are not in working condition, and the government must prepare a plan to rectify them before the summer water woes hit the state. In his reply, RDPR Minister H K Patil said most water units were functional.