Bengaluru: Flagging drought and a looming shortage of drinking water and electricity in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said people should be “mentally prepared”.
Speaking to reporters here, he highlighted the state’s declining rainfall and the government’s ongoing management measures and also urged legislators not to panic. He advised political parties against exploiting the situation.
“This year, the groundwater level has fallen drastically, and crops have been destroyed. In many places, crops could not even be cultivated,” he said, adding that the coming months point to a severe shortage of both drinking water and power.
Karnataka has recorded below-normal rainfall in every month of the monsoon. June brought 116 mm against a normal of 199 mm, a 42 per cent shortfall, while July logged 192 mm against 271 mm and August 169 mm against 220 mm. September has been the worst stretch: 10 mm against a normal 51 mm, an 81 per cent deficit, according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre.
Why Is The Drought Straining The Power Grid?
Demand crossed 19,000 MW during peak hours last week, forcing the state to buy electricity at roughly Rs 11-12 per unit in the evening peak. Consumption at night has risen too, Shivakumar said, and investors setting up in the state are asking for power, water and land.
Energy Minister KJ George has been asked to open talks with neighbouring states. The Chief Minister said thermal generation units should be set up urgently near coal reserves, and that the One Nation, One Grid mechanism would let Karnataka draw power generated elsewhere, though transmission costs would apply.
What Happens Next?
A special session of the legislature has been convened from September 21 to 23 to take up farmers’ distress and the Kasturirangan report, which recommends designating about 37 per cent of the Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area. MLAs across parties have raised constituency-specific grievances, Shivakumar said, insisting that drought declarations would not be filtered through political calculation.
“Wherever the drought is severe and wherever the parameters are met, we will declare those areas as drought-hit soon,” he said.
The Cabinet will meet in Dakshina Kannada on September 18, its first sitting in the coastal region, with measures expected to curb migration for employment. Marking Gowri and Ganesh festival, Shivakumar urged people to pray for good rains.
