₹4.53 crore contingency action plan to tackle water crisis in Kalaburagi district

The Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat has prepared a contingency action plan of ₹4.53 crore to tackle drinking water shortage across the district.

The Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat has prepared a contingency action plan of ₹4.53 crore to tackle drinking water shortage across the district.

As per a Karnataka Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department survey, 193 villages and hamlets out of the 1,287 villages in the district are likely to face a shortage of drinking water in the November and December months, and it will get worse in the early next year.

A comprehensive plan has been prepared to tackle the drinking water shortage by reviving the dried up borewells and piped water and also drilling new borewells if necessary.

As per the contingency action plan, of the 193 villages that are likely to face water shortage, the situation appears to be acute in Afzalpur taluk with 47 villages likely to be affected, followed by Jewargi taluk with 30 villages, and Chittapur taluk with 28 villages.

As many as 25 villages in Aland taluk, 23 villages in Kalaburagi, 21 villages in Sedam and 19 villages in Chincholi taluk would face water scarcity.

Out of the 77 wells where the groundwater level is being measured in the district, the level has been on the rise in 41. There has been a fall in the groundwater level in 13 wells, and water level was constant in eight wells. The remaining 15 were completely closed.

The rapidly depleting groundwater table has become a major cause of worry for farmers across the district. Even the farmers in Jewargi and Afzalpur taluk, who had abundant water resources of Bhima river for irrigation are also left high and dry as the unchecked digging up of the riverbed for illegal mining has resulted in the depletion of the water table.