No relief measures even after 98 talukas declared drought-hit
Representational image
Hubballi: Thirty-eight year old farmer Siddappa Horakeri of the tiny hamlet, Hosarampura in Ron taluk of Gadag district was forced to migrate to Goa as the government has not taken up any drought relief measures two months after declaring 98 taluks a drought-hit in the State.
Most of the farmers have suspended sowing operations in the rabi season as North Karnataka region has not received even half of the average rainfall in September and October. This has also forced jobless farmers to plunge into the Mahadayi movement in large numbers. The legislators are spending time lobbying for a ministerial berth instead of supervising drought relief measures.
Gadag district is the worst affected as the administration has not yet received funds under the natural calamity funds despite government declaring all taluks as drought-hit in August. This has hampered pipeline repair works aggravating drinking water problem in Shirahatti, Mundaragi and Ron taluks. The farmers have not received compensation for crop loss since last year. The district has received only 57.6 mm rainfall as against the average 121 mm rainfall in October. Due to this, people are feeling the pinch of water shortage as more than 20 barrages in Bagalkot and Gadag districts have dried up.
Officials have also failed to fill the lakes in Kundagol and Hubballi taluks through the Malaprabha reservoir due to shortage of water. “The officials are not providing adequate jobs to farm labourers under MGNREGS and rural people are forced to migrate to cities due to the inordinate delay in payment of their wages under the scheme.
Though water is being supplied through tankers, it is not sufficient to meet our requirement. Officials are not taking any measures to desilt dried lakes. Drought relief measures have not been taken up in our village”, said farmer Shankargouda Dodamani of Narayanpur village in Kundagol taluk.
Fodder scarcity has hit the cattle, forcing farmers to sell the animals at throw-away price. The officials claimed that failure of the monsoon in the rabi season will cause severe shortage of fodder. Gadag agriculture department assistant director Prahlad Rao said that sowing operations was taken up only in half of the total 3.10 lakh hectares in the district and farmers will suffer crop loss again in rabi season if there is no rainfall within the next one or two weeks.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story
