GULBARGA: For the second successive year farmers in Gulbarga district, particularly those living on the banks of the Bhima and its rivulets are facing the peculiar problem of floods without even a single drop of rain.

Standing crops on hundreds of acres of land on the banks of the river in Afsalpur, Gulbarga and Jewargi taluks are under floodwaters from the swollen Bhima and the situation is expected to worsen.

Crops

For farmers in the district, this year has been one of the worst. They have suffered losses with the failure of green and black gram crops in many areas and are hoping for a good yield of red gram, which is the main stay of farmers of this district.

Ironically, when one part of the district is facing a drought-like situation owing to the failure of rain, farmers on the banks of the Bhima are suffering huge losses for the second successive year as the river is in spate.

Excess rainfall

The excess rainfall in Maharashtra, particularly in the catchment areas of the Bhima and the heavy inflow into the Ujjini and Veerbhatkal reservoirs in Maharashtra, has forced the authorities in Maharashtra to empty the excess inflow to save their dams.

Although Maharashtra has constructed a number of barrages in the downstream of these two reservoirs and water has been diverted from the Ujjini dam to the Seena, which also has a number of barrages, the inflow into the river has been so heavy that all reservoirs and barrages are full to the brim.

Maharashtra appears to have no alternative but to release excess water into the riverbed.

This has come as a curse to villages on the banks of the Bhima. Last year crops worth several crores of rupees were lost in floods.

A repeat of last year

The story is likely to repeat itself this year as well for farmers on the banks of the Bhima. Officials of the Gulbarga district administration, who have been occupied with relief and rescue operations of affected people and cattle, are yet to take up a survey of the extent of crops lost in the floods.

Survey

A survey of the affected crops would be taken up after the floodwaters recede. This may be a week after Maharashtra stops the release of water from its reservoirs into the river.

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