Drought relief works satisfactory

BANGALORE: The state government appealed to the Centre to release Rs 2,695.99 crore under the calamity relief fund to take up drought relief works in 99 taluks.Central Study Team leader Bijay Kumar, after a meeting with Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, said that due to lack of rainfall in August and September, parts of the state were reeling under drought-like conditions.He said that the team which visited over 20 of the 23 badly affected districts, observed crop loss and depletion of ground water level. Small and marginal farmers are the worst affected, Bijay Kumar said.The team appreciated the initiatives of the state government to mitigate the problems in drought-hit areas. The team of nine top ranking officials visited the affected areas and interacted with cross sections of the people, including farmers, agriculture labourers and officials. The team would submit its report to the Centre in a week’s time.Kumar gave a clean chit to the state government for taking up drought relief works in the worst affected districts. CM Sadananda Gowda in his interaction with the team, informed that the quantum of rainfall recorded this year was the lowest since 1970-71 and over 23 districts have been declared drought-hit.“Agriculture yield may drop drastically, besides creating shortage of fodder and drinking water. Due to dry conditions the farmers have to use excess power to draw water from bore-wells, which is an additional burden on the state government and the farmers,” he said. The state is seeking to provide Rs 1,200 crore under the power sector and needs additional funds for rural employment generation to the tune of `823 crore. There is also a dire need to provide supplementary nutrition in these regions, he said.It may be recalled that the Chief Minister had been accused by the Opposition parties in the Assembly session that the government failed to help the people in drought-hit regions.“I have been monitoring the relief measures through weekly video conferences. There is no truth to the allegations of laxity,” Gowda said in the Assembly.The Central team meet which lasted only for a few minutes with the CM looked like a courtesy visit, leaving a big question mark on the seriousness exhibited by both sides.