<p>The Bhima river basin going dry is common in summer. But coming at the beginning of the season, it has multiplied the woes for the people, especially farmers.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Black sand pervades the basin and there is water only in little pools here and there. These are the puddles dug by desperate people in the villages to grab a few handfuls. Water is available only in some villages of Sindagi taluk. In some places, rampant sand mining has made even creating puddles difficult. <br /><br />The empty river basin has led to a severe water crunch in more than 135 villages in the districts of Vijayapura, Yadgir and Kalaburagi that form the basin. <br /><br />The waterless basin is also causing the groundwater level to dip in the region. Whatever little water is available in the borewells is not fit for drinking.<br /><br />What is giving people the jitters is the fact that the crisis can only deepen. Of these woeful villages, 38 are in Vijayapura district, 19 on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border. <br /><br />There is some water stored in the Dhoolakhed barrage on the border between the two states. That is not of much help to the State as the water is meant for Solapur in Maharashtra. But if the outflow is a little high, some water can flow into the Bhima river in the State, says Panchappa Kalaburagi, president of the Bhima River Farmers’ Committee.<br /> <br />Shivanagouda Patil, a farmer from Kumsagi village, says that the drought this year reminds one of the dreary days seen three to four decades ago. The situation is so bad that it has become difficult even to find water for the cattle, he said. Water has always flowed over the bridge of the Kadani barrage in recent times. Water was available in the backwaters after the construction of the Sonna barrage. But this year, it has been a total misery, says Bhogesh Teli of Kadani village. People of Devanagaon village have urged for the supply of whatever is available from the Sonna barrage, so that it suffices for at least the drinking water needs of humans and cattle. <br /><br />Panchappa Kalaburagi says that the water supplied through tankers by the district administration is just not enough. Eshwaraiah Math of Shambhewada village wants strict action against those looting the river basin of sand, so that the crisis does not recur.<br /><br />Not enough water in Almatti reservoir <br /><br />This is, perhaps, for the first time in the decade-long existence of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Sagar reservoir at Almatti in Bagalkot district that it has not been filled to the brim. <br /><br />The result is the grim drinking water situation. The reservoir supplies water to the twin districts of Vijayapura and Bagalkot. The water should suffice till June and officials of the Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam are making all efforts in this regard. The reservoir presently has just 22.043 tmc ft of water, against its capacity of 123 tmc ft. Of this, live storage is just 4.423 tmc ft. <br /><br /><br /></p>
<p>The Bhima river basin going dry is common in summer. But coming at the beginning of the season, it has multiplied the woes for the people, especially farmers.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Black sand pervades the basin and there is water only in little pools here and there. These are the puddles dug by desperate people in the villages to grab a few handfuls. Water is available only in some villages of Sindagi taluk. In some places, rampant sand mining has made even creating puddles difficult. <br /><br />The empty river basin has led to a severe water crunch in more than 135 villages in the districts of Vijayapura, Yadgir and Kalaburagi that form the basin. <br /><br />The waterless basin is also causing the groundwater level to dip in the region. Whatever little water is available in the borewells is not fit for drinking.<br /><br />What is giving people the jitters is the fact that the crisis can only deepen. Of these woeful villages, 38 are in Vijayapura district, 19 on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border. <br /><br />There is some water stored in the Dhoolakhed barrage on the border between the two states. That is not of much help to the State as the water is meant for Solapur in Maharashtra. But if the outflow is a little high, some water can flow into the Bhima river in the State, says Panchappa Kalaburagi, president of the Bhima River Farmers’ Committee.<br /> <br />Shivanagouda Patil, a farmer from Kumsagi village, says that the drought this year reminds one of the dreary days seen three to four decades ago. The situation is so bad that it has become difficult even to find water for the cattle, he said. Water has always flowed over the bridge of the Kadani barrage in recent times. Water was available in the backwaters after the construction of the Sonna barrage. But this year, it has been a total misery, says Bhogesh Teli of Kadani village. People of Devanagaon village have urged for the supply of whatever is available from the Sonna barrage, so that it suffices for at least the drinking water needs of humans and cattle. <br /><br />Panchappa Kalaburagi says that the water supplied through tankers by the district administration is just not enough. Eshwaraiah Math of Shambhewada village wants strict action against those looting the river basin of sand, so that the crisis does not recur.<br /><br />Not enough water in Almatti reservoir <br /><br />This is, perhaps, for the first time in the decade-long existence of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Sagar reservoir at Almatti in Bagalkot district that it has not been filled to the brim. <br /><br />The result is the grim drinking water situation. The reservoir supplies water to the twin districts of Vijayapura and Bagalkot. The water should suffice till June and officials of the Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam are making all efforts in this regard. The reservoir presently has just 22.043 tmc ft of water, against its capacity of 123 tmc ft. Of this, live storage is just 4.423 tmc ft. <br /><br /><br /></p>
