Karnataka’s drought situation ``very serious and grave,’’ says Central team
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

BANGALORE, Aug 26: The seven-member Central team headed by Union Agriculture ministry’s joint secretary G G Thomson, which concluded its two-day tour of the six severely drught-affected districts for assessing the actual ground situation, has opined that the situation in Karnataka was ``very serious and grave.’’

The team, which rounded up its tour after holding talks with the state chief secretary Sudhakar Rao and top officials of the revenue and agriculture department,  later told reporters that the gravity of the situation  as presented by the state government in its memorandum asking for an immediate central relief of Rs 394.92 crore was ``more realistc’’ and based on the actual crops damage occurred in different districts due to deficit rainfall.

Thomson, who along with the other members of the team had visited the districts of Gulbarga, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Kolar and Tumkur during the visit, promised to submit the team’s assessment report to the Centre in 10 days and recommend the quatum of assistance to be sanctioned to the state.

The team suggested to the state government to step up implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the 20 drought hit districts.

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The memorandum submitted by the government stated that the drought has damaged Rs 871 crore worth of agricultural and horticultural crops.

``Crops such as paddy, jowar, bajra, green gram and black gram have been badly affected,’’ the memorandum said pointing out that some of the drought-hit districts have received rains in the last couple of days which was unlikely to help farmers as the standing crops had already been withered on account of dry spells in July and August.

The officials told the team that the recent rains would only help to mitigate drinking water problem. Standing crops on 16.04 lakh hectares have been affected by dry spells of more than four consecutive weeks in July and August. Horticulture crops on 60,521 hectares have been affected by dry spells, the chief secretary said.

The government has urged the Centre to issue an order to increase daily wages under the NREGA to Rs 100 and the number of mandays from guaranteering employment to 200 from the present 100,. The drinking water was being supplied through tankers in 30 towns of the State. Steps hoave been to supply fodder kits to farmers to grow fodder in their fields, Sudhakar Rao said.

He also indicated that the chief minister B S Yeddyurappa would be shortly convening a meeting of Deputy Commissioners of five districts of Gulbarga division and Bagalkote and Bijapur districts in Gulbarga on Thursday, after the Cabinet meeting being held in Gulbarga for the second time by the present government.

Meanwhile, the state’s agriculture minister S A Ravindranath explained that the plight of farmers in several parts of the state was very bad in view of the continuous drought conditions for seven consecutive years. The early onset of monsoon and its subsequent failure resulting in a mid-season drought coupled with heavy rains and floods in several parts had aggravated the problem.

Agricultural crops, pulses and oil seeds as well as horticultural crops had been badly hit across the state, he said pointing out that the government has already declalred as many as 86 taluks in 20 districts as drought affected as early as on August 11. The outlook for khariff and rabi season is very grim, he said hinting that the government might be forced to review the situation and declare more regions as drought-affected.