Portents are gloomy
Karnataka is in the grip of severe drought for the third year running, and the extended dry spell has left the state parched. That the situation is serious can be gauged from the fact that industries along the banks of Tungabhadra river are shutting shop due to the acute water shortage. While production has already been halted at the pulp and viscose staple fibre plant of Grasim Industries Limited, the Shamshur sugar unit as well as Samsung distillers are on the verge of closure.
We had never seen the Tungabhadra drying up,' says T Inayathulla, a resident of Harihar town in Davengere district. According to K Subramanayan, chief engineer, Tungabhadra river canal, Hospet: "Water in the reservoir has dropped to 4.446 thousand million cubic feet (tmc), while the actual storage capacity is 133 tmc.'
Alarmingly, reports of drought are also pouring in from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the southern parts of central Maharashtra. The Indian Meteorological Department's (imd) assessment, too, makes for depressing reading. Out of the 523 meteorological districts in India, 127 experienced deficient rainfall during the monsoon in 2003. Over 62 of these districts are facing drought for the second consecutive year, states the imd.
The Union ministry of agriculture, which is monitoring the drought, has pegged the economic loss in the four states at Rs 350 crore in its preliminary report. These states have asked for an unprecedented Rs 3,000 crore as relief. Till February, the Union government had released about Rs 200 crore. This is besides the National Calamity Contingency Funds the government has allocated for the four states reeling under the impact of the drought.
It is quite evident that the Union government will have to give huge amounts to check distress migration and ensure availability of food during the summer. Meanwhile, the dry spell has forced Karnataka to embark on its largest drought-relief operation in recent years. Other drought-hit states in the south are also following suit.