Fear of famine looming large in Karnataka
- Though 80% of sowing activities have been done in Karnataka, chances of a good crop are very less.
- Last year, 136 taluks of Karnataka were declared as 'famine-affected' by the authorities.
FollowAs most districts in Karnataka have faced a shortage of rains, a growing fear of famine has been spreading among the Karnataka state administration. Given this alarming fact, gleaned from various indicators.
Kagodu Thimmappa, the Karnataka Revenue Minister, speaking to the media in the Vidhana Soudha, stated that he had already carried out a study tour in districts of Mumbai-Karnataka, Hyderabad-Karnataka and Coastal Karnataka regions and observed a famine-like situation prevalent there.
'Hyderabad-Karnataka' is a historical term for the region comprising of Bidar, Raichur, Koppal, Bellary and Kalaburagi districts. It is considered an arid region. The 'Mumbai-Karnataka' region comprises of Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur.
"Even though the initial monsoon rains fall in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, crops there are facing an acute shortage of water and conditions in the Mumbai-Karnataka region are no better. Though coastal Karnataka and Malnad regions have had some rains, the quantum is less when compared to some time ago. The farming community is looking towards the sky hoping for rains.
Though 80% of sowing activities have been done in Karnataka, chances of a good crop, this time, are very less in the prevailing scenario. Some parts of Karnataka might face acute shortage of drinking water in coming days," he said.
Last year, 136 taluks of Karnataka were declared as 'famine-affected' by the authorities and this time, the number might go up, he feared.
CM Siddaramaiah has assured that the state cabinet’s sub-committee is likely to hold a major meeting on September 28 to take stock of the situation and decide on steps to be taken.
