Groundwater levels drop as heat intensifies in Davanagere

Davanagere: As temperatures continue to soar in the taluk, the groundwater levels in borewells are experiencing a significant decline. This has compelled farmers to rely on tanker water to sustain their arecanut plantations.

Currently, the temperature in the taluk is recorded at around 32 to 33 degrees Celsius. Water scarcity has emerged in several villages within the Santhebenneru-2 and Kasaba hobli areas. Villages such as Koratikere, Chikkaganguru, Hireganguru, Lakshmisagara, Shettihalli, Madapura, Hodigere, Yaragattihalli, V Ramainahalli, Akalakatte, and Kanchiganala are facing a shortage of water in their borewells.

Farmers in these areas have been enduring water issues for the past fifteen days. With no other alternatives, arecanut growers are purchasing tanker water to fill their agricultural pits. They are managing to sustain the plantations through drip irrigation systems.

In response to the crisis, more than ten diesel tankers from neighboring districts have arrived, with rental costs for one tanker of water set between Rs.3,500 and Rs.4,000. Tankers are filling their supplies from the Bhadra River near Nalluru and Chikkakogaluru villages to deliver water to the farmers’ fields. Although the previous year saw good rainfall during the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, filling most lakes and tanks, the groundwater levels have significantly dropped in the Santhebenneru-2 and Kasaba hobli areas, leading to dry borewells.

According to information from Somu, a borewell agent from Kakanuru village, “Between January and March, farmers in these two hobli areas have drilled over 1,000 borewells. Water is available in only a few of them. If water is not found in one borewell, farmers are proceeding to drill another. If it does not rain by April, even more farmers will face water issues.”

Farmer Parameshwara from Koratikere village stated, “In the villages under the Santhebenneru-2 hobli, water scarcity is a recurring problem each year.

While we had good rainfall during the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, the tanks in these villages are not full. Consequently, the groundwater levels are significantly low.”

Despite facing water shortage during the summer months annually, arecanut remains a crucial crop in the 41,000-hectare area of the taluk. The number of new arecanut plantations is increasing each year.