Kalaburagi: Karnataka is facing the threat of drought due to a 75% rainfall deficit triggered by the ‘Super El Niño’ effect, state minister for home, IT-BT, e-governance and Kalaburagi district minister (disaster management) Priyank Kharge said on Monday. He added that the issue would be taken up for discussion at the cabinet meeting scheduled from Thursday.Kharge visited Avarada (B) village in Kalaburagi taluk and inspected crop fields belonging to farmers Vimalabai Ambaraya and Shakuntala Suryakantha in Survey No. 67/7, where crops have suffered extensive damage due to the failure of monsoon rains. He said the visit was part of a statewide exercise directed by chief minister Siddaramaiah to assess drought conditions and submit reports from all districts.The minister said the chief minister and deputy chief minister had already written to the Centre, apprising it of the emerging drought situation in Karnataka. He alleged that stringent National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) norms were preventing states from providing adequate compensation to affected farmers and urged the Union govt to simplify the guidelines.Referring to relief measures taken during the previous year, Kharge said Kalaburagi district had received a record Rs 650 crore in drought relief, making it the second-highest recipient of such assistance in the country. He added that around 4.5 lakh farmers have already enrolled for crop insurance this year.Kharge said complaints were received last year that farmers in nearly 20% of gram panchayat areas did not receive adequate compensation. He said strict instructions had been issued to officials from the revenue and agriculture departments to ensure that no eligible farmer was left out this time.Addressing concerns over drinking water availability, the minister said Rs 1 crore had been earmarked for each Assembly constituency in the district to tackle water supply issues. He maintained that there was no shortage of funds for drinking water projects and noted that Rs 5 crore had already been released for rural drinking water works, which are currently under way.During the visit, farmer Vimalabai Ambaraya told the minister that she had spent nearly Rs 50,000 on fertilisers and seeds to cultivate black gram, but the crop failed because of inadequate rainfall. She said she later sowed red gram on four acres, but that crop too was struggling due to dry conditions, and appealed to the govt for compensation.
