The State government has decided to release water from the four reservoirs in the Cauvery basin from Thursday for filling tanks for drinking purpose, but has strictly asked farmers to desist from cultivating their main commercial crops, paddy and sugarcane, as they need huge quantum of water.
This is for the second time that farmers have been told not to cultivate water-guzzling paddy and sugarcane.
This decision was taken at a meeting of the elected representatives from the Cauvery basin convened by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on Wednesday to discuss the demand by farmers to release water from the reservoirs.
The CM said that water will be released from the Krishna Raja Sagara, the Hemavati, the Harangi and the Kabini reservoirs to help increase groundwater level after concerns that the level had receded to a depth of over 1,000 feet. This would help ensure availability of drinking water, he noted. Mr. Siddaramaiah said the decision had to be taken in the wake of dire shortage of water due to a weak monsoon.
Farmers are free to cultivate rain-fed crops, the Chief Minister said. It may be noted that sowing of paddy and sugarcane crops has not picked up in the Cauvery basin this year due to the non-release of water from reservoirs. “The total storage in all the four Cauvery basin reservoirs is just 45 tmcft now as against 53.52 tmcft during the corresponding period in the previous year,” he said, describing the situation as the worst in the last 46 years. Mr. Siddaramaiah was not committal when asked if the government would think of compensating farmers for not growing paddy and sugarcane. He said that cloud seeding would also be taken up from next week.
Mandya District in-charge M. Krishnappa said the water release would start from midnight itself.
However, both Mr. Krishnappa and Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil made it clear that details such as total tanks to be filled up and the total quantum of water to be released had not been finalised.
