Hassan: A weeping farmer pleading for water with folded hands took members of the technical team headed by chairman of the Central Water Commissioner (CWC), G.S. Jha, by surprise when he approached them in Yadegowdanahalli village of Holenarsipur as they were inspecting a canal.
The Central team arrived in Holenarsipur on Saturday after inspecting the storage in the Krishna Raja Sagar reservoir in Mandya, to assess the water storage in the Hemavathy reservoir.
Manjunath of Yadegowdanahalli near Holenarsipur narrating the problems faced by farmers to the central team. (Right) Women pleading for water with a member of the team in Mandya (Photo: DC)
Before the members realised what was happening , the emotional farmer, later identified as Manjunath, neared them and pleaded, “Sir, give us water and food. We have no water because of the drought. We are asking for nothing but water. In the world, Indians are kind and among Indians, we, Kannadigas are very good -hearted people, sir!”
The tearful farmer was stopped by policemen before he could advance any further and was calmed down by the officials present. Deputy Commissioner Chaitra went on to explain his distress to the Central team, which later took note of the crop conditions in some villages between Holenarispur and Arakalagudu taluks en route to the Hemavathy reservoir in Goruru.
Arriving at the dam, the members were informed by the officials there that its live water storage was 3.196 tmc ft as against its capacity to hold 37.103 tmc ft. At around the same time last year, the reservoir had live water storage of 9.346 tmc feet.
Chief Engineer of the Godavari and Krishna basins, R K Gupta and engineers of the Cauvery basin were present at the briefing.
