Informations should not just be for the geographically, financially otherwise fortunate — for it is the unfortunate who need it most.

April 29, 2019

29Apr19

04-29-2019 09:00:13 AM in VMKSNDMC VMKSNDMC KSNDMC District wise Daily Rainfall SMS will contain Minimum, Maximum and Average Rainfall for the 24 hrs ending at 8.30 AM of 29/4/2019.

04-29-2019 09:02:26 AM in VMKSNDMC VMKSNDMC CHIKKABALLAPURA- NEG,0, 1, 0; TUMAKURU- NEG,0, 2, 0; CHITRADURGA- NEG,0, 2, 0; DAVANAGERE- NEG,0, 1, 0; SHIVAMOGGA- ISO, 0, 11, 0.2; BELAGAVI- SCT, 0, 28, 2.7;

04-29-2019 09:04:24 AM in VMKSNDMC VMKSNDMC BAGALKOTE- ISO, 0, 8, 0.4; VIJAYAPURA- ISO, 0, 15, 0.4; GADAG- ISO, 0, 10, 1.2; HAVERI- ISO, 0, 60, 1.9; DHARWAD- FWS, 0, 52, 6.9;

04-29-2019 09:06:24 AM in VMKSNDMC VMKSNDMC UTTARA KANNADA- ISO, 0, 24, 1.8; BALLARI- ISO, 0, 3, 0.1; KOPPALA- ISO, 0, 6, 0.1; KALABURAGI- ISO, 0, 6, 0.2; BIDAR- ISO, 0, 3, 0.1; YADGIR- NEG,0, 2, 0.1;

04-29-2019 09:08:22 AM in VMKSNDMC VMKSNDMC CHAMARAJANAGARA- ISO, 0, 6, 0.1; MYSURU- ISO, 0, 4, 0; MANDYA- NEG,0, 1, 0; HASSAN- ISO, 0, 5, 0; CHIKKAMAGALURU- ISO, 0, 3, 0; KODAGU- NEG,0, 1, 0;

04-29-2019 09:10:22 AM in VMKSNDMC VMKSNDMC DAKSHINA KANNADA- NEG,0, 1, 0;  No Rain in 6 Districts

04-29-2019 09:10:35 AM in VMKSNDMC VMKSNDMC No Rain in all Taluks;
***********************************************************************************************************************

Drought upends lives in 2,150 Karnataka villages

REPORTfrom Times of India Published on 29 Apr 2019

Most of the borewells in Naringana, a village of about 6,500 people on the Karnataka-Kerala border, are producing dust.

Farming has ceased in Singara Maranahalli, a hamlet in Mysuru district, and many of its 2,000 residents now toil as labourers in nearby towns.

In Old Shedenur, Haveri district, the survival of households depends on the few pots of water they can find.

These are grim snapshots of the biting drought sweeping large tracts of Karnataka, leaving thousands of families struggling to cope. Over 2,150 villages across 26 districts are facing a severe drinking water shortage.

The onslaught of summer and slow relief measures by officials, caught up with election work, have worsened the pain in these parched pockets, which are witnessing an exodus as residents migrate to towns and cities in search of a new life. The situation could become direr in the next 15 days if premonsoon showers don’t arrive.

“The conditions are getting worse with each passing day. A new village reports a water shortage almost daily,” GS Srinivas Reddy, director of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), told TOI. “In just 15 days, from April 9, 350 villages have been added to the list of problematic areas.”

The extent of water scarcity depends on the groundwater stock, according to Reddy. Thousands of borewells have dried up already and the water level of those still offering some respite to villagers is declining fast.

“Around 25 per cent of borewells (in the affected regions) have gone dry,” he said.

A study by KSNDMC has revealed that water level in 80% of wells across the state has fallen below the mean average of the past decade. Chitradurga, Tumakuru, Chikkaballapur, and Vijayapura are among the districts facing the worst drinking water shortages. “Around 500 villages in these four districts are badly hit, and residents are completely dependent on water tankers and private borewells,” an official with the revenue department said.

Private tanker and borewell operators are charging a hefty fee to fulfil a basic requirement. Supply from one water tanker costs Rs 500 in villages and Rs 600 in towns. But with borewells drying up, the operators might struggle to maintain a regular supply.

“There is no dearth of funds. All deputy commissioners have been given sufficient funds, but what will they do if water is not available?” Reddy said. The drought has blighted grazing grounds of cattle in many parts. To help farmers cope with the situation, the government has opened 120 fodder banks, most of them in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, and 11 cattle camps.

More urgent efforts are needed to ease the distress. Already, tensions over sharing drinking water have led to fights in some villages.

In many places, help has not arrived as most of the officials have been busy with poll duty for the past month. Ministers could also not push works because of the model code of conduct. With polling ending in Karnataka, affected residents are hoping relief efforts will pick up pace.

https://reliefweb.int/report/india/drought-upends-lives-2150-karnataka-villages