World Environment Day: Karnataka village locals replenish water body with government aid and crowd-funding, to counter state's water woes

Taking up of nurturing the environment on themselves, reports have emerged, on Wednesday also celebrated as 'World Environment Day', that locals in Karnataka's Vitagondana Koppa village have restored a water body in their village with government assistance and crowd-funding to boost the falling groundwater levels and maintain them a stable limit, as reported by ANI.

Talking to ANI, Shivanadappa - a retired accountant of Vitagondana Koppa has explained how World Bank's 'Jalasamvardhane' scheme and his own savings' contribution has made it possible for them to build a tank which would fulfill the area's water needs.

Centre Issues Drought Advisory To 6 States As Water Level In Dams Dips

Karnataka is also listed by the Centre as one of the six states where water levels in the state dams have dropped to 'critical levels'. The Centre has issued a "drought advisory" to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, asking them to use water judiciously.

The advisory was issued to Tamil Nadu on Friday and similar cautionary letters were sent to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana late last week, said SK Haldar, a member of the Central Water Commission (CWC).

The drought advisory is issued to states when the water level in reservoirs is 20 per cent less than the average of live water storage figures of the past 10 years. Waterfalls under the state list and the advisory recommends states to use it for drinking purpose only till the dams are replenished.

Amid Dreary Forecast, Maharashtra Awaits Monsoons Even As Heat Wave Continues

While Karnataka has been prey to both floods (Kodagu floods - 2018) and drought in recent years, the incident which caught the national media's attention was the Bellandur Lake fire. Bengaluru city's largest lake caught fire in February 2017, due to the high levels of toxic chemicals dumped into the lake by the surrounding industries in that area. The lake has caught fire many times prior and post 2017 due to lack of proper solid waste management and improper cleaning of the lake.

Meanwhile, Karnataka's upper neighbour- Maharashtra is under severe drought as heat wave continues while water in dams drops to critical levels - 13% with Marathwada (the most water-deficient area) at 0.7%. Skymet has also predicted that Maharashtra is likely to receive less rainfall this year with 24 out of the 36 districts in the state forecast to witness a below normal monsoon.