"Though the monsoon (June-September) was near normal in coastal south interior and Malnad regions with record rainfall causing floods in seven districts deficit-rains forced the state government to declare 23 districts drought-hit " an official told IANS here after a review meeting.
According to the Indian Metrological Department (IMD) data the cumulative seasonal rainfall across the southern state was minus 2 per cent from June 1 to September 12 with coastal areas recording 3 per cent above normal and south interior region 7 per cent above normal while north interior area posted 26 per cent deficit.
"A cabinet sub-committee on disaster management had identified 86 taluks (sub-districts) in the state s erstwhile Bombay province in northwest and the Hyderabad-Karnataka region in the northern region due to dry weather " said the official citing a report its chairman and State Revenue Minister R.V. Deshpande submitted to the Chief Minister s office on Tuesday.
As per the revised guidelines a taluk can be declared drought-hit with a 60 per cent rain deficit or a dry spell of three weeks with 33 per cent crop loss.
"Preliminary estimates reveal the kharif crop loss in the absence timely rains is about Rs 8 000 crore as sowing was done in 63 lakh hectares of farm lands out of 75 lakh hectares across the state " said the official.
The state departments concerned including agriculture horticulture and sericulture will conduct a joint survey of the drought-hit districts and submit a report to the central government for grants from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).
"Two central teams are touring seven flood-hit districts including Dakshina Kannada Hassan Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru for spot assessment of the damage to life and property caused by heavy rains " added the official.
The state government will also request the central government to rush another team to assess the damage caused by drought in the 23 districts.
--IANS fb/qd
