The State government on Sunday decided to release 2.75 tmcft water from Almatti and Narayanpura reservoirs to save chilli crop in the Upper Krishna basin.
“Water will be released immediately. Water has to flow 75 km and is expected to reach in two or three days,” Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar told presspersons here on Sunday. He said that a meeting was held with district in-charge Ministers and legislators of Kalaburagi, Raichur, Bagalkot, Yadgir districts. “They explained the situation and urged the water to be released. Despite government’s request not to raise crops in severe drought conditions, some farmers have cultivated chilli instead of paddy. If this crop is destroyed, the estimated loss will be around ₹2,000 crore.”
Mr. Shivakumar, who holds the Water Resources portfolio, said: “To protect our farmers, we have decided to release 2.75 tmcft of water for one last time. Protesting farmers and legislators should now ensure that the water should be used only for chilli crops. We have released the water hoping that the farmers will utilise the water in a responsible manner,” he said.
