KALABURAGI: Every morning, farmers across Kalyana Karnataka step into their fields hoping the sky will finally change. Instead, they are greeted by cracked soil, withering crops and an endless stretch of blue without a single rain-bearing cloud in sight.
For many, the wait has now turned into despair. With little hope left for this season, many farming families- both farmers and laborers- are packing their bags and migrating to cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune in search of work.
With the southwest monsoon largely failing the region and reservoirs holding little water, uncertainty has gripped thousands of farming families in Kalyana Karnataka districts. Crops sown with hope are drying up and agricultural labourers have no work.
Farmer leaders say the migration, is not limited to agricultural labourers but is also seen among small and medium farmers who can no longer sustain themselves from agriculture due to severe drought.
Many farmers had sown crops like soybean, pulses and other rain-fed crops after the onset of the season, expecting normal monsoon showers. Some had even purchased fertilisers in advance, in some cases paying higher prices amid fears of supply disruptions linked to the Gulf conflict and concerns over the Strait of Hormuz. But the rains never arrived.
In several places, seeds failed to germinate. Elsewhere, the crops that did emerge have stopped growing and are gradually drying up due to lack of soil moisture.
The situation has become more worrying as reservoirs, the region’s other major source of irrigation, are also running low. With the government prioritising the available water for drinking purposes, irrigation has become uncertain for large parts of Kalyana Karnataka.
Seeing their crop drying, in some places farmers have already started removing them.
“The condition is very pathetic. Farmers are unable to grow crops because there is no rain, while agricultural labourers have no work. This has already triggered migration,” Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha – Hasiru Sene president Madhava Reddy told Deccan Chronicle.
“People from Ballari, Yadgir, Raichur and nearby districts have started leaving for Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and other places in search of jobs. In my own village of Karur, many families have already left. Some have even admitted their children to hostels before migrating. It is no longer just labourers. Small and medium farmers are also migrating,” he said expressing concern.
According to him, declaring the region drought-hit could provide immediate relief and help arrest the migration.
“It is time the government officially declares these areas drought-hit. That will at least provide some relief to farmers and may stop migration,” he said.
Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha Kalaburagi district president Sharanabasappa Mamashetti echoed similar concerns and wants immediate intervention of the government.
“In several places, the crops that farmers sowed have been completely damaged. Though a few areas received rain over the last two days, it has come too late to save most of the crops. Only a few late-sown crops still have some chance if good rains arrive immediately,” he said.
Mamashetti said many farmers had already invested heavily in seeds and fertilisers but now face mounting losses.
“Even if rains arrive now or irrigation water is released later, many farmers simply do not have the money to sow again. The government should provide seeds and fertilisers free of cost because this is clearly a drought situation,” he said.
He also criticised the state government for not taking adequate drought mitigation measures, claiming that cloud seeding could have offered at least some relief.
He added that the extent of migration is difficult to quantify as people continue to leave villages every day
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha Hagu Krishi Abhivridhi Sene state president K Mastan Nayaka said that normally, by June 20, farmers would have completed sowing cotton, green gram, black-eyed beans, matki and paddy. It has been more than a month since then, but the season has virtually slipped away,” he said.
He said due sustained protests by farmers’ organisations, with support from the media, had helped secure the release of water from the Narayanapura reservoir, which has seen inflow in the recent days due to rain upstream, offering relief to some parts of Raichur district. “But the situation remains grim across the rest of the region,” he added.
He said that migration has already begun from parts of Raichur district as employment opportunities in villages continue to shrink.
In villages like Hoogana Halli in Raichur over 50 percent of villagers have left the place. Some have even taken their children along with them to get them admitted to school in the place where they have migrated.
As the crisis deepens, farmers have begun staging protests in several parts of Kalyana Karnataka, demanding immediate intervention from the state government. They are urging the government to declare the affected districts drought-hit, provide compensation for crop losses, supply seeds and fertilisers free of cost for re-sowing wherever possible, and take measures to prevent further migration by ensuring employment and relief for farming families.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
