Private water tanker operators bleeding farmers dry in Shivamogga

An acre of arecanut plantation requires about 20,000 litres of water per week

Illegal activity: Water being pumped into tankers mounted on trucks from the Bhadra Canal near Hanchina Siddapura village in Bhadravati taluk in Shivamogga.

Though the drought prevailing in the region for the past two years has led to heavy losses for farmers, it has turned out to be a boon for those who own water tankers.

Private operators are illegally extracting water from Bhadra canal and selling it at an inflated price to farmers in parched regions. Since April 27, water is being released from the Bhadra reservoir along the right bank canal for plantation crops in the command area. The release will be stopped on May 5. The water is being pumped into tankers from the canal near Hanchina Siddapura village in Bhadravati taluk and near Nallur village in Channagiri taluk.

The private operators incur an expense of ₹1,000, which includes costs of diesel and wages to be paid for labour to supply water in a tanker of 16,000-litre capacity within a distance of 25 km. Against this, ₹7,500 is being collected from consumers.

The water requirement for an acre of arecanut plantation stands at 20,000 litre per week. The borewell that used to provide water for a three-acre arecanut plantation owned by Nagaraj, a farmer from Devarahalli village, had dried up owing to drought. Nagaraj is now spending ₹25,000 per week on water from tankers to save the arecanut crop.

D.V. Veeresh, functionary, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, told The Hindu that private operators who own the tankers have enhanced the prices by two times in the past three months. Water extracted from the canal free of cost is being sold for drinking needs in Channagiri and surrounding areas and to meet agricultural needs at an inflated price. Many private operators are supplying the water through tankers for industrial units too , he said.

The water released from Bhadra reservoir through the canal for agricultural needs is being commodified by private tanker operators. Owing to illegal extraction of water from the canal, the farmers in the tail-end region of the command area of the reservoir are facing scarcity of water. The Bhadra Command Area Development Authority should take measures to prevent illegal extraction of water by the operators of private tankers, he said.