Bengaluru Urban among five districts with over 100% groundwater extraction: Report
Bengaluru: Five districts in Karnataka, including Bengaluru Urban, are facing alarming levels of groundwater extraction exceeding 100%, according to recent data. However, the state overall has shown improvement compared to earlier estimates by the Union government.
Official data, cited by Deccan Herald on Thursday, revealed that Kolar leads the list with groundwater extraction at 193.35%, followed by Bengaluru Urban (186.7%), Chikkaballapura (164.33%), Bengaluru Rural (147.05%), and Chitradurga (144.44%).
Groundwater extraction above 70% is classified as ‘semi-critical,’ between 90-100% as ‘critical,’ and anything over 100% is considered ‘overexploited.’ The statewide average groundwater extraction stands at 68.44%.
To address the issue, the Minor Irrigation Department has launched the ‘Water is Future’ project. The first phase targets 525 gram panchayats (GPs) across 27 taluks in 15 districts marked as “critical” or “overexploited.” Notably, 86 of these GPs are located in Bengaluru Urban district alone, added the report.
While the data for the five districts are worrying, Karnataka’s overall groundwater status has improved nationally. As per the National Compilation on Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India, 2024, conducted by the Union government, Karnataka ranks 10th in groundwater extraction, a better position than the 5th rank in the previous report.
Punjab tops the list nationwide with 156.87% extraction, followed by Rajasthan (149.86%) and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (142.17%). In South India, Pondicherry (75.91%) and Tamil Nadu (74.26%) report higher groundwater exploitation than Karnataka.
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Former minister C M Ibrahim announces to launch new regional party for Karnataka
Kalaburagi: Two years after being expelled from the Janata Dal (Secular), former minister C.M. Ibrahim has announced that he will launch a new regional political party in Karnataka on January 24, reported Deccan Herald.
Speaking at a meeting organised by the Nava Karnataka Nirmana Andolana in Kalaburagi on Sunday, Ibrahim confirmed the birth of the new party.
The 77-year-old politician stated he would soon be meeting with other like-minded individuals to choose a symbol for the party.
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Ibrahim emphasised that the organisation would be guided by the principles of 12th-century social reformer Basavanna and the architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
A veteran politician, Ibrahim served as Union Civil Aviation Minister during the tenure of H.D. Deve Gowda as Prime Minister and later headed the Karnataka unit of the Janata Dal (Secular). He was expelled from the JD(S) in 2023 on charges of anti-party activities.
His exit from the party followed sharp differences over the JD(S) decision to ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As the then state president of the JD(S), Ibrahim had publicly criticised the alliance, claiming it was finalised without his knowledge. He had also reportedly convened meetings of his supporters and expressed support for the INDIA bloc.
