Karnataka staring at monsoon deficit in all but five districts, says Chief Minister

Indicating that Karnataka has to brace for a deficit monsoon in all districts, barring five, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday not only directed the Deputy Commissioners of districts to take precautionary measures to prevent any shortage of drinking water, but also made it clear that they would be held responsible for any shortage.

The Chief Minister issued the directive at a review meeting with district in-charge Ministers, senior officials, Deputy Commissioners and CEOs of zilla panchayats, held in Bengaluru.

He pointed out that the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecasted below-normal rainfall for the southwest monsoon, which is the mainstay for the State. While August was anticipated to receive normal rainfall, he observed that September was expected to experience a rainfall deficit.

More heatwave days

Stressing the need for a co-ordinated approach among the departments of Revenue, RDPR and Urban Development, the Chief Minister pointed out that most of the North Interior Districts in the State were likely to experience an above-average number of heatwave days from April to June this year. He asked the Deputy Commissioners to issue necessary instructions on precautionary measures to be taken and also create awareness on the measures suggested by the IMD.

He urged the Deputy Commissioners to make all arrangements to address the situation. He said there were sufficient funds available to guarantee an adequate supply of drinking water. The Finance Department had already been directed to allocate funds to the districts for this purpose, based on the reports provided by the Deputy Commissioners.

Most vulberable

The Chief Minister told the meeting that 213 taluks and 2,410 village panchayats, which are vulnerable to drinking water shortage, had been identified. Of them, already 598 village panchayats in 114 taluks were facing drinking water shortage. Measures had been taken to supply drinking water through 129 tankers to 137 villages while 585 private borewells too had been hired to supply drinking water in the rest of the villages that were facing shortage, he explained.

Similarly, 95 urban local bodies may face drinking water shortage, while already 27 were facing a shortage. In all, 145 urban wards were now getting drinking water through 57 tankers while 22 private borewells had been hired for this purpose, the Chief Minister said.

Mr. Siddaramaiah urged officials to prioritise the hiring of private borewells to tide over the drinking water shortage and noted that tanker supplies should only be used when absolutely necessary. If there is a need, authorities could also consider drilling new borewells, he said.

Reservoir levels

Presently, 14 prominent reservoirs in the State have a total storage of 321.93 tmcft, which accounts for 36% of their full storage capacity. The situation was slightly better during the corresponding period of last year, as the total storage in these reservoirs had accounted for 330.35 tmcft, he noted.

Observing that the present storage was adequate to take care of the drinking water requirements of the State, the Chief Minister asked the authorities concerned to ensure that water storage is reserved for drinking water requirements till mid-July, as the southwest monsoon was likely to begin late this year. He instructed authorities concerned to give priority to drinking water needs over irrigation, and to take measures to plug the leakage in reservoirs.

RO units

Mr. Siddaramaiah directed officials to set up control rooms at the taluk and ward levels. The district-level task force for drinking water, too, should work effectively, and the taluk-level task forces should meet and submit reports to the authorities on the drinking water situation, he said. He directed the officials to ensure that all the Public RO Drinking water units are working effectively with 24/7 power connectivity. It is up to the DCs to prevent any contamination in drinking water, he added.