“While more than half of the state is reeling under floods, at least five districts are drought-hit. We are facing two extreme calamities,” said Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa in his Independence Day speech. If floods devastated more than two dozen districts this year, drought has been tormenting the state for 14 years since 2001.
Yediyurappa took oath as CM while the state was barely recovering from drought. However, the change in political landscape also brought in floods.
Even before the government and bureaucracy could fully implement the relief measures in 156 taluks that were declared drought-hit in December last year, floods and incessant rains wreaked havoc in the state.Now, when the Centre, after a prolonged delay of almost two months, has released flood aid, the state is looking at a possibility of declaring about 30 more taluks as drought-hit.
While the state government, utilising its funds as well as the central aid of Rs 1,029.39 crore released in August, has focused on the supply of drinking water, job generation under MGNREGA, supply of fodder and checking migration of rural masses, continued deficit rain has pushed more taluks into the drought-hit list. In a recent review meeting conducted by the revenue department, taluks in Bengaluru, Ramanagara, Kolar, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Chamarajanagar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura and Gadag were identified as drought affected.
If there is one district that has faced drought for the longest period, it is Kolar. Farmers in the district have tried everything from changing crops to depending on dairy farming for revenue but the extensive dependence on rainwater has left the district high and dry year after year. This wasn’t the case a couple of decades ago when lakes and groundwater were the lifelines of Kolar.
“I own 12 acres and grow mango, potato and tomato in seven acres. But I have not grown anything in the remaining five acres because of water shortage,” said Shivarame Gowda, a farmer from Kiruvara in Srinivasapur taluk.
The tale of Narayana Gowda, another farmer, is different. He first chose to sow drought-resistant ragi — athree-month-crop— following rain in June and July in Kolar and Chikballapur, but rains failed and so did the crop. He then shifted to a two-month crop of horse gram, with little hope of success.
Every time a taluk is declared drought-hit, the DCs are authorised to undertake a joint survey to assess the extent of crop loss, as per the modalities prescribed by the government in the Manual for Drought Management 2016. Drought relief measures are then undertaken. But projects like the KC Valley give hope to Kolar farmers. Treated water from Bengaluru to fill up lakes in Kolar has shown an increase in groundwater level. Also, 31 tanks have already been filled up under the project in Narasapura and Malur. A project to construct 806 check dams across the district, of which 312 have been completed, show the way forward.