Drought Conditions Prevail In Kalaburagi The ‘Tur Bowl’ In Karnataka
05 July, Kalaburagi
Drought condition prevails in ‘Tur Bowl’in Karnataka with the district failed to receive any rains since thelast one month. It has been estimated that there would be a crop loss to the tune of Rs 100 crore.
The farming community was happy when the monsoon set on much earlier. They had gone in for sowing of short term cash crops like green gram and black gram. However, their happiness was short-lived as the district did not receive any rains after that for more than a month now.
Sources in the Agriculture Department said here that the shortfall in rain in June was 43 per cent. The official said that against the normal average rain fall of 113 mm, the district received only 64 mm.
Department sources also said that there was chances of nearly 50 per cent of the crop withering due to deficit rainfall. The exact crop loss so far has been put at Rs 50 crore, but this figure is likely to increase to Rs 100 crore after correct estimations are made.
As the crop has dried up, farmers plowing land to get it ready for the sowing of sunflower hasbecome a common scene in the district.
All seven taluks in the district received deficient rainfall and Afzalpur and Jewargi topped the list recording 74 per cent and 64 per cent less rainfall and farmers did not take up sowing in the rain-fed areas in these two taluks.
The situation was better in Chincholi and Sedam, which received 16 per cent less rainfall, followed by Chitapur taluk with 27 per cent.
Most of the sowing had taken place in the taluks of Chincholi, Sedam and Chitapur which had received some good in June. However,the hopes of the farmers, who had sown green gram on 15,256 ha out of a targeted area of 18,000 ha and black gram on 8,603 ha out of 25,500 ha, of getting back some returns is fading.
Due to deficit rainfall, crops in nearly 55,000 hectares have withered. Due to strong winds for nearly a month, the moisture content in the soil has disappeared, leading to the withering of crops like green gram, black gram, sesamum and soybean Even farmers, who had taken up early sowing of red gram, were also facing the prospect of losing their crop on 66,420 ha out of the targeted 3.59 lakh, the sources added.