Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Oct 12: With more than 200 taluks in Karnataka facing drought and farmers and the public struggling with water shortages, former MLA and state president of the environmental organisation ‘Parisarakagi Naavu’ A T Ramaswamy has appealed to coastal people to oppose the organisation of Kambala in Mysuru.
Addressing a press conference in Mangaluru on Monday, Ramaswamy said Kambala, a traditional rural sport and an important part of coastal Karnataka’s cultural heritage, commands great respect. However, he urged the organisers to reconsider the decision to hold the event in Mysuru in view of the prevailing drought conditions.
He said more than 200 taluks in the state were facing severe drought, groundwater levels had fallen drastically, and hundreds of villages were struggling to meet their drinking water needs. Cattle, goats and sheep were also facing shortages of water and fodder. Expressing concern over the situation developing as early as October, he said the difficulties that could arise in the coming months were worrying.
Referring to reports warning of the possible impact of a super El Niño, Ramaswamy said farmers were already distressed by crop losses. He criticised the state government’s announcement of Rs 2,500 in drought relief, describing the amount as an insult to farmers. He claimed that farmers had decided to contribute Re 1 to the relief amount and donate the resulting Rs 2,501 to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund as a mark of protest.
Ramaswamy said Mysuru district was also severely affected by drought, with several villages facing drinking water shortages. Of the district’s 2,991 lakes, 2,928 had reportedly dried up, while only 63 contained water. Borewells within a 10-km radius of Mysuru city had dried up, and several residential areas were experiencing acute drinking water shortages.
He further said water levels in the Cauvery, Kabini, Hemavathi and Harangi reservoirs had declined, with their combined storage falling to less than half of the level recorded during the corresponding period last year.
Ramaswamy also raised environmental concerns over the site selected for the Mysuru Kambala event, claiming that the land had originally been earmarked for a park. According to him, the area had supported hundreds of trees, smaller plants, shrubs, a dried-up lake and a variety of wildlife, including rabbits, squirrels and birds.
He alleged that more than 50 trees and hundreds of plants and shrubs had been cleared, destroying the ecosystem that depended on them. He also claimed that part of the lake bed had been filled to create a racing track for buffaloes. The Forest Department had registered an FIR in connection with the felling of trees, he said.
Questioning the need to organise another major event in Mysuru, Ramaswamy said the city already hosted several programmes during the Mysuru Dasara celebrations, including the world-famous Jamboo Savari, Women's Dasara, Children's Dasara, Raitha Dasara, Yuva Dasara, Yuva Sambhrama, a food festival, laser shows and sporting events. He said Mysuru residents had expressed dissatisfaction over the alleged lack of proper organisation of these programmes.
He said protests against the proposed Kambala event had been continuing for the past three months, with several writers and artists from Mysuru district and elsewhere in Karnataka extending their support. Despite the protests, the government had remained firm on its decision, while the organisers had not responded to the appeals, he alleged.
Describing the appeal to coastal residents and buffalo owners as a final attempt to prevent the event, Ramaswamy urged owners who had registered their buffaloes for the competition to withdraw their entries and stay away from the event.
He also appealed to people in coastal Karnataka to persuade the buffalo owners to reconsider their participation, stressing that the region’s people should take the environmental and drought-related concerns into account.
State Raitha Sangha president Badagalapura Nagendra, Dalit Sangharsha Samiti state convener Guruprasad Keragodu, ‘Parisarakagi Naavu’ general secretary Parashuramegowda, environmental activist Leela Shivakumar, writer and columnist Kusuma Ayarahalli, and general secretary Ravikiran Punacha were among those present at the press conference.