The weather gods have not brought rains leading to tremendous hardships to residents of Belagavi. The standing paddy crop is drying up. It is difficult time for farmers, residents, industrialists, hospitals, hotels, schools & for cattle. Almost two weeks delay in monsoon is causing havoc with wells, bore wells and Rakasakoppa water reservoir reaching to dead storage level.
Belagavi city usually receives an annual average rainfall of 1,400 mm. The city is facing the second driest spell in a decade.
The district administration and city corporation officials are in a helpless situation & are assigned with responsibility of supplying water through tankers which is not quenching the thirst of citizens. It is also advised by district administration to drink boiled water only.
It is hard for Industries to continue their production without water. A similar situation existed in 2016. Belagavi City Corporation officials identified old open wells that contained potable water. They cleaned a series of wells in Belagavi North and South areas and began supplying water to some residential areas.
Pyaas Foundation, led by Madhav Prabhu, a city-based doctor, and his friends are supplying tanker water to some areas. The foundation is also taking up work to clean and dredge tanks and wells and create new water bodies in rural areas.
Amulya Boondh Foundation, led by Aarati Bhandare, is creating awareness about water conservation among schoolchildren and women’s organizations.
It is high time to find lasting solutions to overcome recurring problems of water scarcity by addressing creation of more water bodies, make rain water harvesting compulsory in multi-storey apartments, and plan for mass plantation. None of the apartments have places for trees/green spaces.
