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The decline in rainfall in recent years and developmental activities in the Western Ghats region have taken a toll on water supply to coastal Karnataka.
The Karnataka government has not formally declared coastal Karnataka as drought-affected, but farmers and industries, especially in Dakshina Kannada district, have been severely affected by water scarcity.
The Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has been supplying drinking water to the city once in two days as the water storage in the Thumbe reservoir, built across Nethravathi River (the lifeline of Dakshina Kannada district), has come down drastically.
When this correspondent visited the Thumbe reservoir on Saturday, the water level had reached 7.9 ft, against the maximum storage level of 13 ft. On April 23, the level had stood at 12.9 ft.
Unusually dryDinesh Holla of the Sahyadri Sanchaya, a forum of environmentalists, told BusinessLine that rainfall in the Western Ghats region and in Dakshina Kannada district has been coming down in the past two years.
As a result, the grassland in the places where rivers originate in the Western Ghats have dried up. This leads to decline in water supply to the shola rainforest ranges downstream.
Impact on farmingManohar Shetty, an office-bearer of the district unit of the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha, said that Dakshina Kannada district is facing a drought-like situation.
Arecanut, which is the major commercial crop of the district, requires constant watering during the April-May period. But most of the plantations are drying because of water scarcity, he added.
The region typically gets showers in December, February and March, but there had been no showers since September 2015.
Borewells are also drying up in many areas, and there is no certainty of striking water even at depths beyond beyond 400 ft, he said.
Raveesh Hegde, General Manager of the Totagars’ Cooperative Sales Society in Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district, said water sources are drying up in the district too.
The water scarcity may not affect the areca plant, but will have an impact on flowering, particularly since The water situation is relatively better in Udupi. The water level in Baje dam, which supplies to Udupi and Manipal, will help meet the requirement of the region till mid-May.
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