With shortfall in rains in 13 districts, the State government has taken initiatives to create awareness among farmers to plant crops that are less water intensive such as ragi.
Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, Minister for Revenue R.V. Deshpande said the State received excess rainfall (70%) but it was confined only to some districts. Overall, the State received a deficient 3% rainfall since the commencement of monsoon. It received 505mm rainfall against the normal 522mm from June 1 to August 6.
Monsoon was below normal in Raichur, Gadag, Yadgir, Ballari, Haveri, Bidar, Kalaburagi, Koppal, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Chickballapur, Kolar, and Bengaluru Urban.
The Minister said the Development Commissioner has been told to hold meetings once a month to assess the rain situation and initiate measures to tackle drought. The authorities have also been instructed to implement Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment programme to provide jobs.
The Minister said the department has decided to undertake land survey across the State after a gap of 54 years. The land survey has commenced already in Hassan, Tumakuru, Ramanagaram, and Belagavi.