Karnataka: Busy searching for water, people skip MNREGA work

By- Basavaraj Maralihalli
HAVERI: Shidenur village in Byadagi taluk has a population of over 4,000, but its residents have been put to inconvenience because all eight government borewells there have gone dry.
Water is supplied from Bidarakatti, Old Shidenur and Nandihalli, which are 2.5km away. This water is inadequate and most farmers have sold their livestock due to scarcity of fodder. “I’m ready to work under the MNREGA scheme. But I have to spend the whole day searching for water,’’ said Lalitavva Banakar.
Gram panchayat member Nagangouda Tevari said: “We’ve been supplying tanker water 6-8 times every day. But, we still can’t meet the demand. The government should tackle this problem.’’ The situation in Ramagondanahalli village is equally bad. People are totally dependent on private borewells which are taken on rent. On many occasions, villagers have quarelled over water. “We get five pots of water by 2pm for which we have to queue up from 4am. Else, we have to trek to nearby villages,” Mahadevappa Kurubar said. He said many work in the Byadagi chilli market but have lost jobs due to water problem.
Tanker water for crops
Farmers in Byadagi and Hirekerur taluks use tanker water for crops. Cashew crop is withering due to high temperature, around 40 degrees Celcius. Farmers have invested lakhs of rupees on cashew plantations here.
Shortage of rainfall
This year, the cumulative impact of deficient rainfall over the past three years has aggravated the problem. Haveri district was supposed to receive 890mm rain from January 1, 2019 to May 11, but it has got only 222mm. It is facing over 75% shortage of rain this summer. The district administration has assessed crop losses to be around Rs 33 crore.