Bangalore: Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) recently rolled out a report for Karnataka which lists 156 out of 176 talukas as drought-hit, after a failed Northeast Monsoon between October to December last year.
Not just this, a total of 107 talukas have been reported as reeling under ‘severe’ drought conditions.
The economic survey of the state for 2018-19 has projected “a negative growth of 4.8 percent in the agricultural sector because of the drought situation prevailing due to scarcity of rain”.
According to the data available with Skymet, in 2018, North Interior Karnataka received 531.5 mm of rainfall, which was 28% below the normal of 740.3 mm. However, rainfall was slightly more than normal in South Interior Karnataka and Coastal Karnataka.
And not just last year, Northern Karnataka has been receiving weak Monsoon rains for the last three years creating a drought-like condition. On the other hand, Southern Karnataka, which relies heavily on the Southwest Monsoon, has fared better till now.
Water crisis in capital city Bengaluru
The crisis doesn’t end here. Last year, a report by BBC, lists Bengaluru second on the list among 11 cities where per capita water supply would fall below 50 litres per day. The city requires 1,400 million litres per day, whereas it only receives 1,250 MLD.
Better planned areas still receive more water while poorer areas on the periphery receive much less. These areas are entirely dependent on private water tankers due to depletion of groundwater.
The above crisis is only deepening and there is a need for a long-term solution to the problem before it worsens.
Source: Skymet Weather