The intensity of the drought that has gripped large parts of the State is seeing “unprecedented” crop loss and mass migrations among the vulnerable populations, says a report by the NGO ActionAid.
The NGO looked at the effects of three years of consecutive drought in three districts — Chamarajanagar, Chickballapur and Vijayapura. The study covered over 20 villages, while 13,455 families were interviewed to tabulate human suffering that has been unleashed.
Among the most affected were Dalit and small farmer communities. In these, researchers found that up to 90% of crop was lost because of water scarcity. As drinking water becomes acute (96% of borewells in these villages were reported dried up), the report states that families are forced to travel up to 3 km for water. About 60% of families reported that they spend more than three hours a day to find potable water, says Action Aid. For cattle, the lack of water has been particularly harsh: over 2,000 head of cattle were reported dead in Kollegal alone.
Distressingly, nearly three-fourths of the 13,455 families reported migration to urban centres. Researchers found only young children and senior citizens in the homes. Bread-earning members had migrated to Tirupur and Coimbatore of Tamil Nadu and Pune, Sholapur, and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra for livelihood reasons. The desperation for livelihood is seeing many families being pushed into bonded labour, states the report. For instance, in Laxmaiahna Doddi village of Chamarajanagar district, ActionAid found that landless Dalit families were now working for just ₹25 a day.
Government response
The study found that the government response to the crisis remains lacking. Just one in 12 schools were found to be serving “hot mid-day meals” and just one in eight RO water plants were found to be working, while the ration shops had enough provisions for barely 10 days of the month.
Kshitij Urs, regional manager, ActionAid, demanded the strengthening of the rural employment scheme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, all over the State to offset the losses owing to drought; as well as widespread, timely dispersal of compensation.
