JOIN USBangarpet stares at grave water crisis
The taluk is staring at a grave water crisis with the water table plummeting below 1,500 feet and the borewells drying up as a result.
The people in the taluk may have to face a serious problem getting drinking water in the days to come, unless the authorities concerned take the necessary measures at the earliest.
It was expected that there will be a grave water crisis in the taluk this summer. But the pre-monsoon showers brought respite. The rainwater seeped into the ground thus bringing down the temperature.
Increased problems
The residue of the water in the tank bed has to an extent fulfilled the water needs of the
cattle.
But the water problem is expected to aggravate in the taluk in the near future. Only in 20.87 percent of the villages of the taluk, the water availability is 40 litres per capita per day (LPCD).
Of the total area under sowing for crops, only 26.2 percent is irrigated land. There are a total of 6,609 borewells in the taluk and 18 were drilled in 2009-10. The number of tanks in the taluk is 367. There are 468 minor water supply projects through 181 borewells, but the drinking water problem has not been solved.
Only rain, no rise
Though the rainfall has been above normal so far this year (42 mm against a normal of 49 mm), the same has not resulted in any substantial increase in the groundwater level.
The average annual rainfall in the taluk is 704 mm.
But, since 2000, there has been less than average rainfall in the taluk, except in 2005. None of the tanks in the taluk has received enough water in the last five years.
Even if there is more rainfall than normal, it will not be possible for the rainfall to fill the tanks, as the canals leading to the tanks are either blocked or have been encroached upon. Many tank beds have fallen prey to land sharks.
Worrisome developments
All these developments have caused concern among the taluk’s farming community. After the tanks and the wells started drying up, the farmers were depending on the borewells. But now, with even the borewells drying up, the farmers are literally left high and dry.
Worse, people in the taluk have no enough water even for household chores. Also, in the last three to four years, water in the borewells has been found to contain fluorides, sulphates and phosphates. This water, which is not fit for irrigation, may even cause diseases and handicaps among the people.
Warning ignored
Though Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had warned about a water crisis in the taluk a quarter century ago, no necessary measures were taken.
The people in Bangarpet have no hopes about the Dr G S Paramashivaiah report being
implemented or even the Yettinahole lift irrigation project of Sakleshpur, that Veerappa Moily talks about, materialising.
Congress leader K M Narayanaswamy demands that the government must
implement a drinking water project for Kolar district at the earliest.