Belagavi: After reviewing the worsening drought situation in areas of north-Karnataka, chairman of the Cabinet sub-committee on drought, R.V. Deshpande has said that the drought is turning severe and getting worse in December.
In view of the persisting dry spell, the committee issued a stern warning to officials in affected districts not to go out of their headquarters until the situation turns normal.
Reviewing drought situation at a meeting at Suvarna Vidhan Soudha, Mr Deshpande urged top officials of Belagavi district, one of the drought-hit areas, to immediately draw up an action plan to face the situation effectively. All officers should take up drought-relief work at a brisk pace as the government expected them to work like the soldiers guarding the country in this emergency situation, he said. Without any delay, works to provide water and labour to the rural folk should be provided by officials as the government had enough funds to tackle the situation, he said advising them to install GPS on all tankers which supplied water to the affected areas on a regular basis. The committee would conduct a survey to ascertain crop losses suffered by farmers in the Kharif season before submitting a comprehensive report to the government, he said assuring farmers that they would be compensated effectively for the losses.
Deputy Commissioner N Jairam said, the areas in Krishna basin could face drinking water scarcity towards the end of March that could force the government to get another 4 tmc of water released from Maharashtra's reservoirs. Enough water had been stored in Malaprabha dam to cater to the needs of people of Gadag, Dharwad, Belagavi and Bagalkot district until March, he said.
Members of the committee visited several areas affected by drought in Belagavi region and took note of the drinking water problem faced by people.
