DROUGHT- NORTH KARNATAKA. Farmers squeezed dry by drought

“It is close to 35 days since we received drinking water supplied by the municipal corporation,” says B Biradar, a resident of Gadag, a district and major town in North Karnataka.

With the Tungabhadra, a major river in the region, turning dry, towns dependent on it for water are wilting. The Gadag municipal corporation has been supplying borewell water through tankers once in 4-5 days, but that’s not sufficient, say citizens. “We have to buy water from private tankers; our expenses on water have shot up by ₹1,000-2,000,” says Biradar, who has a family of six.

Parvatamma, a housewife, laments: “The tanker water is hard, and it is difficult to cook tur dal .” she says. The government has set up about 20-22 water purification units, where 20 litres of filtered water are dispensed for ₹2, “but it is tough to get the water because of the crowds,” she adds.

As North Karnataka reels under its fourth consecutive drought, the administration in the region is struggling to make water available. Even larger cities such as Hubli-Dharwad receive drinking water once in 8-9 days, residents say.

Lower than normal rains for the past three to four years have led to aggravated drought conditions in Karnataka. Except for the North-Eastern districts of Bidar and Kalburgi, most of the 28 other districts, including Bijapur, Belgaum and Koppal, have received deficit rains this year, and 160 taluks have been declared drought-affected.

Admitting the gravity of the crisis, TM Vijay Bhaskar, Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary, said, “We are reviving the situation every day.”

As a long-term measure, the State has been taking various measures to enhance the drought resilience of farmers by encouraging them to diversify into dairying or agro forestry, sheep rearing and animal husbandry among others, Bhaskar said

The State has also been promoting the concept of ‘integrated farming’ through schemes such as Krishi Bhagya and Pashu Bhagya. “Schemes such as anna bhagya or ksheera bhagya are helping farmers in these tough times,” Bhaskar said.

At Mulgund, a small town near Gadag, Dyavappa Betageri, a small farmer, says that after the kharif crop of jowar on his 1.5 acres failed last year, his family is largely dependent on the earnings of milk sold from his two cows. “Sometimes I get work under the rural employment scheme MNREGA. But it is the ₹200 per day we get from the sale of milk that has helped us through,” he adds.

The drought, considered the worst, has aggravated the agrarian crisis. “There are no takers for share cropping or even take up farming on a lease basis,” says Buddappa Madalli, a farmer in Mulgund. “Against ₹5,000-6,000 an acre till last year, the tenants are offering ₹2,000-3,000 as they are unsure of the rains. Even the land prices, which ruled between ₹5-7 lakh per acre two years ago, are now at ₹2-3 lakh,” he adds.

Similarly, at Magadi in Shirahatti taluk, farmers said their land values had declined in recent years.

Magadi lake, the largest waterbody in the region, has dried up after a decade. Desilting has been going on over the past three months at the 130-acre lake, which draws migratory birds from Central Asia.

The water table in the vicinity of the lake has dropped to around 500-600 feet from 200-250 feet. Farmers are finding it difficult to maintain their cattle and have started selling out. Even those farmers who had taken insurance cover are yet to receive the payouts.

Dharmappa Lamani, a farmer in Chebbi tanda, a gypsy hamlet near Shirahatti, said the drought has triggered a migration of youngsters from the villages to bigger cities such as Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Hubbali and Coorg.

Typically after finishing their farm work during the monsoon season, the lambani youngsters migrate to Goa in search of work during the main tourist season from November to May. They used to work in the shops near the Goan beaches as cooks or helpers; some even set up shops in flea markets and sell clothes and jewellery.

However, this year, many of them have returned early as the tourist season was cut short on account of demonetisation. “The inflow of tourists on account of demonetisation has dwindled and this has hit our earnings,” says Muthruaj Nayak, a tattoo artist. “We used to save around ₹50,000-60,000 every season. This year we have come back with savings of just ₹15,000,” he adds.

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