Cup of miseries brims over for farmers in Karnataka's 'sugar bowl'

The undivided Vijayapura and Belagavi districts which boast of having five rivers — Krishna, Bheema, Doni, Ghataprabha and Malaprabha - flowing through them are in the clutches of a severe drought this season.

Of the total 40 taluks in Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Belagavi districts, 34 have been declared severely drought-hit by the government. 

Scanty rainfall during the kharif season coupled with faulty water and power supply systems have compounded the farmers’ problems. 

Farmers who had borrowed money from banks and private moneylenders incurred massive losses as crops started to wither during the germination and flowering stage. 

In Vijayapura district, which is known for its major crops tur and sugarcane, sowing was completed on 6.1 lakh hectares against the target of 7.1 lakh hectares. 

No rain in Aug

This season, sowing commenced in July as the district did not receive any rain in June. Anticipating good rain in August and September first week, farmers took up sowing. However, the district did not receive any rain in August.

The crops have started to wither and agriculture officials estimate that there will be a 50% crop loss.

All the nine taluks in Bagalkot district have been listed as drought-hit. The district has a deficit of 34% rainfall and it has affected sunflower, tur, chilli and sugarcane cultivation.

Since the district gets the backwaters of Almatti dam built across River Krishna, farmers in the district depend mainly on Ghataprabha and Malaprabha rivers for the water needs of their crops.   

50% less water

Both these rivers have 50% less water due to insufficient rains in the catchment area and the sugarcane growers are feeling the pinch. 

Ramappa Bandiwad of Shirol village in Mudhol taluk said that the sugarcane growers, after being ignored by sugar factories last crushing season, are in for trouble again as the sugarcane output is likely to be poor and the juice content in the produce is likely to be less. 

With agricultural activities coming to a standstill, farm labourers from Hungund, Ilkal and Badami, which are drylands, are migrating to Mangaluru, Udupi and Goa is search of jobs.

This is not a new phenomenon as every year, farm labourers leave their villages in search of employment soon after the festival season is over. This time it is a little early, said Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader Shivaraj Patil.

Hope fading 

He said farmers are incurring almost 60% crop loss during the kharif season and if the situation continues, their hope of getting a good harvest during rabi will be dashed. The situation is no different in the Belagavi district. As many as 13 of the 18 taluks in the district figure in the list of severely drought-hit.

Important crops namely green gram, black gram, maize, paddy and sugarcane are bearing the brunt of the failure of monsoon.

The scanty monsoon has made life difficult for sugarcane growers in the region, known as the ‘sugar bowl’ of Karnataka.

Inflow into the Malaprabha and Ghataprabha rivers from Maharashtra is poor this year. While the Malaprabha has 21 tmcft of water against its capacity of 37 tmcft, Ghataprabha has only 42 tmcft against a capacity of 51 tmcft.

Tough guidelines

Tough guidelines by the Centre for deciding areas hit by drought have deprived several taluks of the drought-hit tag.

The central teams are likely to tour the state to assess the situation and submit a report to the Centre.Based on the report, the Centre announces compensation as per National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) norms.

Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda recently said that the compensation will be according to NDRF norms, which means farmers will get a meagre amount. 

Onus on govt

“The state government has its task cut out to rescue farmers from the jaws of drought. Meagre compensation as per NDRF norms will not help in any way. The state government should walk the extra mile to compensate farmers by paying them a reasonable amount in addition to what they get under NDRF norms,” said Basangouda Malipatil, a farmer.

Drinking water 

The only saving grace is that the region is facing no shortage of drinking water as water from the Almatti reservoir has been released to fill tanks in the area. If any town or village is facing a shortage of drinking water, it is due to a faulty supply system. Erratic power supply is blamed for drinking water woes in Vijayapura city and other towns.