Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (DV)

Mangaluru, Nov 12: A majority of the taluks in the state are facing drought due to poor rainfall in this year’s monsoon period. In fact, taluks did not even get adequate rainfall in the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon season as well. This huge deficiency if rainfall is likely to put the farmers’ lives in a limbo.

Every taluk on average gets 85.2 centimeters of rainfall during monsoon. But, this year the taluks have on average got just 63.5 centimeters of rainfall which is 25 per cent lower.

The government has declared 216 taluks as drought-hit out of 236 of them in the state. Every year the state used to receive moderate to heavy rainfall during October. But, due to depression in the Bay of Bengal, rainfall made a late entry into the state.

The India Meteorological Department says the state received insufficient rainfall in the state.

Downfall of post-monsoon rainfall

The state records 12.1 centimeters of rainfall on an average during the post-monsoon. But, this time state has recorded just 4.2 centimeters on average leading to a 65 per cent deficiency in the amount of rainfall. So, there is a fear that a shortage of rainfall will lead to scarcity of drinking water starting January 2024.

In coastal Karnataka, rainfall received during the monsoon helps in carrying out agricultural activity and in tiding over the drinking water issues.

This time there is a deficiency of 28% rainfall in Dakshina Kannada 63% Udupi, 38% Uttara Kannada, 95% Bagalkote, 80% Belagavi, 81% Bidar, 89% Dharwad, 98% Gadag, 88% Haveri, 85% Kalaburgi, 99% Koppala and Raichur, 98% Vijayapura, 93% Yadgiri, 100% Ballari, 57% Bengaluru Rural, 47% Bengaluru, 45% Chamarajanagar, 95% Chikkaballapur, 43% Chikkamagaluru, 8% Hassan, 91% Chitradurga, 94% Davanagere, 76% Kolar, 28% Mandya, 56% Ramanagara, 72% Shivamogga, 86% Tumakuru and 99% in Vijayanagar.

The state expects to get some rainfall during the months of November and December.

There is a possibility of the state receiving post-monsoon rainfall till the end of January. If it rains in the first two weeks of November, the state can expect good rainfall at the end of the month, IMD sources say.