Bengaluru, July 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday warned of a potentially severe drought this year, urging farmers not to depend on reservoir water for cultivation as inflows into most major reservoirs have dropped drastically.
Addressing a press conference after the state Cabinet meeting at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said the state was witnessing a worsening rainfall deficit and appealed to farmers to plan their cropping pattern cautiously based on rainfall.
"There are indications that the country could face a severe drought this year. Inflows into most of Karnataka's reservoirs have fallen to negligible levels. I urge farmers not to sow crops depending solely on reservoir water. If rains improve, the government will ensure water is supplied," he said.
He said reservoir levels in Tungabhadra, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, Narayanpur and Vani Vilasa had witnessed virtually no inflows compared to the same period last year.
In the Cauvery basin, he noted that water levels had fallen sharply.
Hemavathi reservoir, which had around 80 feet of water during the corresponding period last year, now stands at about 40 feet. Water storage in the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir has declined from around 100 feet to about 22 feet, while Kabini reservoir has dropped from 79 feet to nearly 26 feet. Inflows into these reservoirs are currently only around 20 per cent of normal levels, he said.
Shivakumar said district in-charge ministers had been assigned responsibility for monitoring two to three districts each, while he would personally tour all four administrative divisions to review the drought situation. The CM added that the Centre had already cautioned states about possible shortages of water and electricity, prompting the state government to initiate precautionary measures.
He said district ministers had been instructed to assess fodder availability and drinking water preparedness, while officials had been directed to identify locations requiring emergency borewells.
The Cabinet also approved the launch of a new "Praja Seve" initiative aimed at strengthening grievance redressal.
Under the programme, district in-charge ministers will be required to visit two Assembly constituencies every month—on the first and third Saturdays—to directly hear public grievances. Officials from all concerned departments will participate in these outreach programmes, which are intended to take government services closer to the people.
Shivakumar said a separate department would be created for the initiative under the leadership of an IAS officer, with responsibility for coordinating grievances, protests and public petitions and ensuring they are addressed by the concerned departments.
On the proposed privatisation of electricity distribution, he said the state government had directed all Electricity Supply companies (ESCOMs) to submit formal objections before the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC). He said the previous BJP government had allowed private entities to seek distribution licences, based on which Tata had submitted an application. The Congress government, however, does not support the proposal, he said.
The CM also said the implementation of the Centre's VB- G RAM G scheme would impose an annual financial burden of about Rs 3,806 crore on the state government. Although Karnataka had challenged the scheme, the state would implement it subject to prescribed conditions, he added.
Among other Cabinet decisions, the government approved Rs 26 crore to strengthen eye care services for children under the National Programme for Control of Blindness; administrative approval of Rs 98.5 crore for the Bilagi Lift Irrigation Project in Bagalkote district to irrigate about 7,000 acres; first-phase approval of Rs 320 crore out of a proposed Rs 700-crore textile park project in Kalaburagi; Rs 26 crore for development of a Tree Park on 60 acres at NGF; Rs 33 crore for sports kits and educational materials for minority students; and Rs 30 crore for establishing a Common Facility Centre at the Aerospace Park in Devanahalli.
Source: IANS
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