Blitz Bureau
The Karnataka Government announced that Rs 5 crore has been earmarked for each district to ensure uninterrupted drinking water supply.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister, G Parameshwara, on July 1 said, “If there is no rainfall in the coming days, the situation could become diႈcult. The government has already prepared a plan of action, which will be implemented by the respective Deputy Commissioners.”
Parameshwara said drought-like conditions were emerging in Belagavi district, increasing the likelihood of drinking water scarcity. Rainfall during June has been below normal, resulting in a decline in groundwater levels. Water level in the Almatti and Narayanpura reservoirs, the primary lifeline for drinking water and irrigation in North Karnataka’s five districts, has fallen drastically.
The reservoirs supplying water to Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Yadgir, Kalaburagi and Raichur districts are witnessing critically low storage levels due to poor rainfall in the Krishna River basin.
The water stock in the Almatti reservoir is suႈcient to meet the drinking water requirements only till the end of July. During the corresponding period last year, both reservoirs were more than half full, prompting authorities to release lakhs of cusecs of water downstream as a precautionary measure. This year, however, the reservoirs are nearing dead storage levels with virtually no inÀow.
