Karnataka is in the throes of the second worst drought since 1971 with 157 taluks out of the 175 having been declared drought hit. With an average deficit of 26 per cent in rainfall in the entire state, the worst hit is south-interior Karnataka, which is facing a crisis of 35 per cent deficit in rainfall. The last rays of hope of some relief seem to be fast fading with the receding south-west monsoon, which has also been low key this year in comparison to previous years. “The state has suffered a 26 per cent deficit in rainfall this year,” said director, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre V.S. Prakash.
Giving an area-wise breakup of the rainfall in the 30 districts, Dr. Prakash said the south-interior region with 11 districts is the worst hit with 35 per cent deficit rainfall followed by the north-interior region, which comprises 12 districts. “The region has suffered a 34 per cent deficit in rainfall. Malnad with four districts in its fold is reeling under a rainfall deficit of 22 per cent and even coastal Karnataka with three districts is faced with a rainfall deficit of 20 per cent,” he added.
This is the second worst drought after 2002 in which the state had suffered a 33 per cent rainfall deficit. “The overall rain in 2002 was much less in comparison to this year. Each drought has a unique signature. But both these droughts seem to be the culmination of scant rainfall in the previous years; there was scant rainfall in 2001-02 and this year’s drought is a culmination of a weak south-west monsoon last year and poor rainfall since June this year. The poor monsoon could be largely due to dormant weather system in the Arabian Sea,” added Mr. Prakash.
As a result of the drought, the state is now confronted with a massive crop loss. “As against the target area of 74.7 lakh hectares for kharif, only 61.93 lakh hectares could be sown and out of this 16.21 lakh hectares has been affected by deficit rain. So practically we have lost almost 28 lakh hectares of target area meant for sowing,” he said.