Kalaburagi: They are abandoning their ancient abodes, the land of their forefathers, for an uncertain life in the city all because the 'mother of all droughts' has wrecked their lives beyond repair.
There is no water to drink, not a drop for irrigation for farm labourers like Laxman from Karadakal village of Surpur taluk. With two young sons and a daughter to bring up, Laxman had always believed that the land which he cultivated, would stand him by him in good and bad times, even through a tough drought.
But this time, cities like Bengaluru where he could make a living, is the only hope with the wells and canals drying up and the government playing it safe by not releasing water for a second crop. "I have decided to go to Bengaluru, as there is no water in the village for us to survive, let alone for irrigation", he explains ruefully.
Villages of Hyderabad- Karnataka have not seen a drought of this kind, not even in 1972, when water became scarce and there was nothing left for the farmers to harvest. Whether it is Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir or Raichur, the drought is so severe that agriculture has become well nigh impossible.
In Yadgir, vast tracts of land are irrigated by the Narayanapura Right Bank and Left Bank Canals and the drought used to affect only rain-fed areas in the past. This year, the irrigated belt has also dried up forcing farmers to think of other options including migration as the government wants to save the water available for drinking.
The MGNREGS which offered hope to the illiterate, semi-literate and unskilled agricultural labourers, has not been of much help to farmers, all because the bureaucracts concerned, with their laidback attitude, are unable to respond effectively to the situation. Many villages in these parts wear a deserted look with the elderly and sick taking shelter from the searing heat in their ramshackle homes while the younger lot goes in search of jobs, some food and water of course.
Will North Karnataka ever recover from this colossal calamity which has already unleashed a spree of suicides across the rural heartland? Did those in the higher echelons of the government and bureaucracy fail to see what was coming and add to the misery of this hapless lot?
Out in the countryside, Karnataka's farmers are calling for help in desperation and praying that the rains come earlier than usual.
