Drought-hit Karnataka to release water for irrigation one last time before the next monsoon

“Some farmers have planted chilli instead of paddy. If this crop is destroyed, the estimated loss will be around Rs 2,000 crore,” he told a news conference on Sunday. The decision to release the water was arrived at following a meeting held on Saturday night with ministers in charge of the concerned districts, MLAs and farmer representatives.

Currently, the Alamatti and Narayanpur dams – built across River Krishna – have a total water availability of 47 TMC. Of this, 37 TMC was required for the drinking water requirements of the districts for the next few months, three TMC water was required for other purposes and 1.5 TMC was lost during flow. “We have to manage the water for another six months. So this time, we will be releasing water for farmlands for the last time,” he said.

Karnataka has been facing its worst drought in recent years due to monsoon failure. As many as 216 of the 236 taluks in the state have been declared drought-hit. After complaining over the delay by the central government in releasing drought relief under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, seeking a relief of Rs 18,177 crore.

Shivakumar said that a delegation of 31 MPs were in the state on Sunday and Monday to inspect river Cauvery. Irrigation issues faced by Karnataka will be discussed with the representatives, he said.