Underground water levels drop beyond 700 ft in DK district

Though Dakshina Kannada (DK) in Karnataka is a district that gets an average of 3400 mm rainfall every monsoon, the underground water levels in the district have fallen by a record 700 feet this year.  

Most of the rain water has flowed away into the sea and underwater levels in Belthangadi and Puttur taluks have sunk beyond 700 feet.  

Because the sinking of the underground water table was noticed last year, a ban on digging new bore-wells was imposed and the rule was followed diligently by DK farmers. Yet the situation seems to have worsened.  

Now the district administration has taken up measures to build check dams to stop the wastage of rain water and enrich the underground water levels.