Deficit rainfall and non-availability of water for irrigated land have resulted in an agriculture crisis in Hassan district this year. According to preliminary estimation prepared by the Department of Agriculture, crop on over 1.13 lakh hectares of the total 2.04 lakh ha will be lost. The final figure, however, is expected to go up once the ground-level assessment is over.
“Our officials are still collecting data from the fields. Preliminary estimates show that standing crop on 1.13 lakh ha will be lost. The loss in terms of money is yet to be assessed,” a senior official in the Department of Agriculture told The Hindu on Monday.
The district administration has instructed the officials of the Department of Agriculture to assess the loss and the officials are expected to finalise this report soon.
Almost all crops, including paddy, ragi, maize, potato, and ginger have suffered owing to scanty rainfall. According to a report of the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, the normal rainfall expected in Hassan district in the monsoon season till Monday is 609.4 mm. However, the actual figure stands at 553.49 mm. In the month of September (till Monday), the rainfall expected is 59.6 mm, but the actual rainfall received is 33.91 mm. The departure from normal in the current month alone is about 43 per cent. The water level in the Hemavati reservoir has fallen drastically with the Supreme Court asking the State Government to release water. As on Monday, the water level in the reservoir stood at 2,874 ft against the full reservoir level of 2,922 ft. The amount of water available is only 07.664 tmcft, of which the live storage is 03.292 tmc ft.
Meanwhile, farmers are demanding compensation at the rate of at least Rs. 50,000 per acre in the wake of crop loss. Political parties have also raised a similar demand. The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha has planned a protest in front of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Wednesday in this regard. Rame Gowda, a farmer in Salagame Hobli of Hassan taluk, said farmers in the hobli were hoping that the government responds to the demand for compensation positively.
“Rs. 50,000 per acre will not compensate the loss. Farmers have spent more than that to cultivate each acre,” he added.
