Karnataka - Others   

The disaster that shattered their dreams

Special Correspondent

Many small farmers will now have to work for livelihood

LEFT IN THE LURCH: Srinivas and his wife, Shanta, whose house was swept away. — PHOTO: M.A. Sriram

H.D. KOTE (MYSORE DISTRICT): Having led a hand-to-mouth existence for long, Srinivas hoped to reap a bumper crop this year. He owns three acres of land on which he had cultivated sugarcane and was hoping to clear his loan.

When Srinivas learnt that the earning per acre could touch Rs. 80,000 this year, he jumped in glee at the prospects of becoming "debt free". And when the Taraka reservoir became full for the first time this year after it was commissioned in 1983, Srinivas and scores of farmers went euphoric as they were no longer at the nature's mercy and had water to irrigate their land.

But it was the nature again that did them in. The world of Srinivas came crashing down and was washed away in the swirling waters that gushed out of the Taraka reservoir when one of the three crest gates collapsed on Friday.

"I had no inkling of the disaster and was alerted by a few villagers. The water flow in the canal had increased and I decided to move my belongings to a safe place," Srinivas said.

"I shifted my cow to a higher place and returned to retrieve my other belongings. But the water level increased by then and I was wading through it holding on to sugarcane plants for support when my house collapsed and all my belongings, including a pair of bullocks, poultry fowls, a pair of sheep, were missing," Srinivas, who has incurred a debt of Rs. 1 lakh and had spent Rs. 50,000 on sugarcane cultivation, said.

The turnaround has been dramatic for Srinivas, who, now has to work for a livelihood. Like Srinivas, many farmers living downstream of the Taraka dam have been affected. Vivek Cariappa, president of the Organic Farmers' Association, said the disaster was manmade. Last year, it was Nugu when the officials miscalculated and impounded water till the reservoir attained its full level of 110 feet. "Then they released water at one go to save the dam and harmed the farmers. Now it is Taraka," he added.

Mr. Cariappa sought to know why silt had not been removed from the canals all these years. Though the Government had released Rs. 2.5 crore for the purpose, the money was not utilised.

If the canals were free of silt, the water flow would have been smooth and this would have limited the damage, according to a few farmers.

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