Drought year for Karnataka, farmers, people face distress
The year 2023 will go down as the worst drought year in Karnataka. Although the state recorded 16 drought years since 2001 till now, it witnessed the lowest rainfall in the last 123 years. This year, both the Southwest and Northeast monsoons recorded less rainfall, resulting in 223 of 236 taluks being declared drought-hit.
This year, the state also saw a ‘green drought’. When the inter-ministerial Central team came to Karnataka to assess the drought situation, Revenue Minister Krishna Byregowda and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy explained what a ‘green drought’ is. “In some places, there is green cover, but the yield has come down. We have informed the Central team of this ‘green drought’, which is unusual,” Byregowda stated.
Karnataka received 642mm of rain during the Southwest monsoon (June to September) as against 852mm of actual rainfall. This year, even the Northeast monsoon failed. The state has 13 reservoirs that supply water for irrigation and drinking purposes, but water reduced drastically compared to previous years, putting pressure on the state government to reserve water for drinking, which has been the priority.
Farmers, who were at the mercy of the rain gods, were disappointed and devastated. On one side, there was no rain and the dam levels hit rock bottom, and on the other, there was no fodder for their cattle. While some could not sow in the beginning of the monsoon as they did not receive sufficient rain, those who did saw their crops wilting due to lack of rain.
When the harvest season came around, those who did sow and were able to sustain their crops, saw a drastically reduced yield, putting further pressure on farmers. This resulted in reduction in foodgrain production from the expected 148 lakh tonnes of grain to around 80 lakh MT. This will also result in an increase in the price of commodities.
Farmers who faced the double whammy of two failed monsoons in 2023, now have no option other than waiting till next year, hoping it would be better than the one gone by.
CM SEEKS 18K CR RELIEF
Recently, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and sought Rs 18,177 crore in assistance for drought relief work in the state. Siddaramaiah also insisted that PM Modi direct Union Home Minister Amit Shah to hold an emergency meeting of the high-powered committee and take immediate steps to release funds to tackle drought. In his letter, the CM mentioned crop loss on 46.11 lakh hectares of agri lands and 2.06 lakh hectares of horticulture land.
COMPENSATION POLITICS
Relief compensation for crop loss took a political turn when the State government blamed the Centre for not giving appointments earlier when they sought time to explain the situation and later complained about not paying compensation. BJP leaders, on the other side, said the State government should have paid compensation from its treasury immediately and then compensate it with Central relief funds. BJP leaders also alleged that the State government has spent money on guarantee schemes, which has resulted in a shortage of funds.
CAUVERY ROW
In September, a bandh was called by pro-Kannada activists opposing the government’s decision to release water from the Cauvery River to Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) has been directing the Karnataka government to release water to Tamil Nadu, while farmers in Mysuru, Mandya and Ramanagara region face distress.
FARMER SUICIDES
456 farmers died by suicide from June to November, shows official data
354 farmers eligible for compensation
321 farmers got compensation of Rs 16.05 crore; 33 yet to be compensated