K'taka govt says Centre's "drought manual" far away from ground realities
to seek changes in guidelines
Bengaluru, July 21: The Karnataka government on Friday said it will write to the Centre requesting for changes in the guidelines in the "drought manual", aimed at declaring drought, based on ground realities.
Responding to a short duration discussion in the Assembly, regarding rain deficit in the state, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said, going by the existing drought manual, the state government will not be able to provide enough relief and will have to face anger from the people.
"To declare drought, the Centre has a drought manual, the previous manual was released in 2016. In earlier manuals states had some flexibility. The current manual by the current central government, changed the criterion for drought, according to which there should be 60 per cent rainfall deficit and three weeks of dry spell," Gowda said.
Also there are parameters such as groundwater moisture level and satellite imagery, he said, adding, when the cabinet sub-committee tried to apply this to taluks in the state, there was no connection to demand and the eligibility.
According to the manual, the state has to provide relief if there is moderate drought, and until June-July rains, drought cannot be declared, he further said, adding that "so if we go by the drought manual 2016, we will not be able to provide enough relief to needy and will have to face anger from the people."
Gowda said, the cabinet after discussion in detail has requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to write to the Centre requesting to change the guidelines in the drought manual as it is far away from ground realities.
"We have prepared a letter from the CM to the central government, requesting for some flexibility to the state government to declare drought based on ground realities. A detailed letter will be sent in a couple of days," he said.
The Minister however said that the cabinet subcommittee by next week, based on the central guidelines, will decide on declaring drought in taluks.
Noting that the Monsoon set in the state in June, about 8-10 days late than usual between June 10-14, Gowda said, other than the delay there was a deficit of about 56 per cent in June, but in July there has been rain in almost all parts of the state, except some places.
He said, in the last three to four days in many parts of the state the monsoon is active, and the rain deficit has now reduced to 29 percent from 56 per cent last month, "but I still can't say that there have been rains in all taluks. In several taluks there is still a severe deficit."
According to the met department, the monsoon rains will be active in most parts of the state till August 3, he said, adding that despite the ' El Ni o' effect this time, there is a forecast of over all normal rains in the state, and shortage in Bengaluru and surrounding districts.
Observing that legislators raised issues about damage to crops sown, drinking water, and about fodder, the Minister said, the government has been monitoring all these constantly and the CM had himself held a meeting with officials from districts which had received very less rain last month, and had given Rs one crore to each district to address drinking water issues.
Orders were given to supply drinking water through tankers, he said. Today in about 110 villages drinking water is being supplied through tankers and the government is bearing the cost, and in 330 villages which had shortage of water 404 private borewells were taken on rent to supply.
Last month, there was anxiety regarding drinking water as water levels in state's reservoirs were down. Gowda cited, "very indisciplined management" three to four months ahead of polls as the reason for it. Water in all reservoirs were indiscriminately released bringing down the level.
"Despite last year witnessing surplus rainfall and inflow till November to December to reservoirs. By June this year water level was brought down to a critical level we had not seen in 20 years," he said, adding that in June we were at a very critical stage even for drinking water, but rains in July has put us in a situation where we are in no risk to provide drinking water, but still cannot release water to canals.
In four reservoirs under Cauvery catchment there was 18,687 cusecs inflow yesterday, in six reservoirs under Krishna basin there was 76,264 cusecs inflow, so these rains have been a "relief" for the state, he further said. There is improvement in inflow in Almatti, Malaprabha and Ghataprabha, also Sharavathi, and there is no anxiety in supplies to the government's multi villages drinking water supply schemes.
During the recent cabinet meeting, it was decided by the Chief Minister to go for digging borewells at places that are dependent on groundwater supply, Gowda said, adding, funds will be released to every district for immediate relief on a need basis, and in a couple of days money will be sent.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
