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Pumpsets lying idle in Chamarajanagar

By Our Correspondent

CHAMARAJANAGAR, MAY 4. A water crisis has gripped Chamarajanagar district. Farmers in the district are in trouble as the water table has depleted to an all-time low, and more than 14,000 of 19,000 irrigation pumpsets in an area of 80,000 acres are not being used.

In the absence of a perennial source of water and the poor inflow into the Kabini reservoir have resulted in farmers in the district tapping groundwater in a reckless manner leading to a depletion in the resource. Overexploitation of groundwater has brought down the water table and affected the yield of wells. Owing to the successive spells of drought in the past few years, groundwater has not been recharged.

The annual rainfall, which is between 411 mm and 705 mm, is not widespread. When the groundwater resource was dependable, irrigation pumpsets were in use, and farm labourers in rain-fed areas were assured of round-the-year employment. Now, thousands of them have become jobless.

With water shortage worsening, the situation is ripe for convincing households to reduce dependence on surface water and take up rainwater harvesting. Most of the surface water sources are contaminated, and rainwater harvesting can help augment resources for supply of water to rural areas. The concept of rainwater harvesting is gaining acceptance, thanks to seminars and workshops. But whether it will get translated into reality remains to be seen.

Experts point out the benefits of rainwater harvesting, and say the concept is more than 1,000 years old. They feel that the concept is more relevant today than ever before. Storage of rainwater will also help reduce the chances of floods and soil erosion, and prevent rapid accumulation of silt in lakes, they say.

The Chamarajanagar Zilla Panchayat and the Watershed Management Department can encourage rainwater harvesting in rural areas. The check-dams built to stop rainwater and recharge the water table have proved to be of little use. However, watershed management techniques implemented by non-governmental organisations have helped raise the water table.

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