Rivers from Nandi Hills range find their course again in arid lands
The Hindu
Farmers of Kolar and Chickballapur, who initially celebrated rains, have begun to despair at the damage they have caused
Anjaneya Reddy, a farmers’ activist from Chickballapur district, never thought that he would witness rivers in spate and tanks overflowing in his lifetime. And he’s not the only one shaking his head in bewilderment.
Heavy rains in October and November have brought rivers to life in the historically arid regions of Kolar, Chickballapurand surrounding areas. Six rivers that originate in the Nandi Hills range on Bengaluru’s outskirts are flowing bountifully, bringing much joy to communities living along the banks and despair to farmers who have lost their standing crops.
It had been years since the rivers — Arkavathi, Chitravathi, Papagni, Uttara Pinakini, Dakshina Pinakini and Palar — have been in spate like this, said locals and environmentalists. Barring Arkavathi, the other rivers are flowing after many years.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.