By Ashwini M Sripad| Express News Service | Published: 27th December 2023 07:29 AM
The New Indian Express
BENGALURU: Karnataka, which is reeling under drought, is likely to face a drinking water crisis during summer. The situation may worsen in towns and cities with most of the reservoirs receiving poor inflows.Expressing concern over the impending crisis, experts have advised people to use water judiciously.
With summer fast approaching, the government has decided to use water from its reservoirs for drinking and industrial purposes. Because of this, farmers, who are already in distress due to the failure of the monsoon, may not get much water for irrigation.
According to KSNDMC, major reservoirs, which can hold up to 895 tmcft of water, now have only 394 tmcft. The reservoirs had 668 tmcft of water during the same period last year. While the gross capacity of reservoirs in the Cauvery basin is 114 tmcft, as on date they have just 52 tmcft. They had 83 tmcft of water during the same period last year.
Sources in the Revenue Department, under which the disaster management wing functions, said the State may not receive heavy showers in the coming months to fill its reservoirs.
“As such, the water level in the reservoirs has come down. Though the government is insisting that its priority is to ease the drinking water crisis during summer, the State may face a shortage by February end or early March,” the sources said.
The crisis will also affect the places which depend on groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes. According to officials from the disaster management wing, due to shortage, farmers have overexploited the groundwater source by drilling borewells. “At many places, the borewells have also become dry,” they added.
Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge had stated that officials have been directed to utilise the services of private water tanker operators in the affected areas.
GS Srinivas Reddy, former director of KSNDMC and now serving as scientific officer, said there are ‘’chances” of the State facing drinking water issues. Farmers had been asked earlier not to cultivate crops that need more water. He urged people to avoid wasting water and plug leaks.
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