Karnataka prepares for drought as rainfall deficit deepens, says Shivakumar

Karnataka has stepped up preparations for a possible drought after an acute rainfall deficit left reservoirs depleted and groundwater levels under severe stress, prompting the state government to prioritise drinking water security and begin the process of seeking central assistance.

Deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar, who chaired a special Cabinet meeting followed by an extensive review with senior officials on Sunday, said the administration must treat the evolving situation as an emergency and intensify field-level drought management across the state.

Describing the rainfall shortfall as alarming, Shivakumar said precipitation was nearly 60 per cent below normal across large parts of Karnataka, with 178 taluks recording deficient rainfall and 158 of them experiencing severe shortages. Vijayanagara district was among the worst affected.

He said reservoir storage had fallen sharply and currently stood at only about 40 per cent of the level recorded during the same period last year. While drinking water supplies remained adequate for the time being, he cautioned that available reserves were largely sufficient only for essential consumption.

Hydropower reservoirs were holding only around one-fifth of their capacity, while reservoirs in the Cauvery and Krishna river basins were also well below normal levels, he added.

The state government has directed officials to regulate water use carefully and advise farmers to make sowing decisions based on realistic assessments of irrigation availability.

Appealing particularly to farmers in Mandya district, Shivakumar urged them not to cultivate crops in anticipation of irrigation releases, saying only limited quantities of Cauvery water had been earmarked for drinking purposes.

Groundwater levels have also declined significantly, with thousands of minor irrigation tanks and Zilla Panchayat tanks now holding less than half their storage capacity, according to the government's review.

To strengthen drinking water preparedness, the government has allocated Rs 1 crore for water-related works in every Assembly constituency. Shivakumar said more than Rs 329 crore was already available with local bodies and instructed district authorities to utilise the funds immediately for emergency measures.

The state has begun preparing a comprehensive drought memorandum for submission to the Centre within the next 15 days. Shivakumar said he had already requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to depute a Central team to assess the situation and added that Karnataka's Members of Parliament would be briefed before the issue is raised in Parliament.

Emphasising the need for evidence-based decision-making, he directed officials to conduct personal field inspections rather than rely solely on office reports. He instructed officers to document conditions through site visits, videos and other supporting evidence before recommending any official drought declaration.

The government also ordered contingency measures to protect livestock, including building fodder reserves and preparing to establish temporary cattle shelters if required.

To prevent distress migration, gram sabhas have been asked to identify labour-intensive public works such as groundwater recharge, farm bunding, land development and check dam construction so that rural residents can find employment within their own villages.

Shivakumar also directed strict monitoring of new borewell projects, including GPS mapping and video documentation, to improve transparency and prevent misuse of public funds.

Regional drought review meetings have already been conducted in parts of north Karnataka, with further reviews scheduled in Chitradurga and Mysuru later this month.

Calling the drought response a collective responsibility, Shivakumar said officials would remain on duty without weekly holidays until conditions improved, stressing that every department must work together to mitigate the impact of the unfolding crisis.

With PTI inputs