About 3 km from the historic Vani Vilas Sagar built across the Vedavati, a tributary of the Krishna, Baramagiri and 10 other surrounding villages that host a large number of coconut and areca plantations are reeling under drought. It is in stark contrast to the picturesque Marikanive in Chitradurga district in the backwaters.
Just outside the village, the vast Baramagiri lake, which can hold more than 2 tmcft of water, stands dry. So are most irrigation borewells in these 11 villages where groundwater depends on the lake’s health. Several water tankers pace up and down, carrying water to the near and far coconut plantations from the very few functional borewells as worried farmers are trying to keep the coconut and areca plants alive.
“Till last year, the plentiful rainfall not only irrigated our farmers but also increased groundwater level. This year, it has been terrible and coconut plantations are wilting. Water from V.V. Sagar is now being pumped for drinking water purposes only. We are demanding that the government fill the Baramagiri tank and save our crops,” said Veerabhadraiah, president of the Kere Balakedarara Sangha, and added that the water problem started in January. “The Upper Bhadra project has become important to us, now that we do not have water. We had not seen it as an election issue till now since we did not witness this kind of a drought,” he conceded, explaining why they had not demanded completion of the project from the parties in power.
