JOIN USAs the amount of rainfall has been decreasing year by year in Kodagu, the groundwater level has also depleted to a great extent, raising a serious concern about the availability of water in future.
Unlike earlier when Napoklu, Bhagamandala and Talacauvery received lots of rain for a continuous stretch of three months, these areas now receive continuous rainfall for a maximum of 20 days.
Groundwater which was easily available at farms earlier is much harder to access these days. As a result, the dependency on the river has increased to a great extent. Farmers cultivating coffee plantations have been drawing the river water on a large scale using pump sets of higher horsepower. These machines can be seen drawing water along the river basin. Water is drawn for acres of coffee plantations. However, many farmers have adopted drip irrigation technique.
Senior citizens in the region recall the days when Napoklu was converted into an island during the rainy season. Such a scene is not to be witnessed now. On the contrary, the flow of river Cauvery has been becoming more thinner. Days are not far when the river itself will go dry, said Save Kodagu Forum member Udayshankar.
Lakshmi Vaidya, a woman from Napoklu who resides in Bengaluru, said that Kottamudi bridge would be washed away by the floods during the rainy season eighty years back. The people then depended on boats to cross the river. The same was the situation at Ettukadu.
Supporting these statements by the people, facts and figures do indicate that the amount of rainfall has decreased to a great extent in Talacauvery, said Rain Guage Centre's engineer Jayakumar.
Rainfall of 8,443 mm was recorded in Talacuavery 10 years back. The amount of rainfall this year is 5,672 mm. The lowest rainfall was recorded in 2015.