Krishna River Drying: Urgent Plea for Water Support from Maharashtra

The Krishna River is very important for the northern parts of Karnataka, but it is drying up because of the hot temperatures. Normally, the river dries up in May, but this year it started drying in April. This problem is mainly affecting the Bagalkot, Vijayapura, and Yadagiri districts in Kalyan Karnataka. Siddarayappa Koravi, a farmer from Yadgir, said, “Our crops are dying because we rely on the Krishna River for water.” Thankfully, people are still getting drinking water through tankers every 15 days.

But the situation is getting serious. Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, asking for 2 tmcft of water from Koyana and 1 tmcft from Varana reservoirs to help refill the Krishna River. However, the Maharashtra government has not replied yet, making life hard for 13 districts in Kittur and Kalyan Karnataka, where people need both drinking water and water for farming.

Siddagouda Modagi, president of the Karnataka state farmers’ group, believes that Karnataka should send a team to Maharashtra instead of just writing letters. He said, “Writing letters is not enough. The government needs to take action.” PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi has also asked the Chief Minister to act quickly so the water situation doesn’t get worse.

In some areas like Athani, Chikkodi, and Raibag, things are better because they get enough water from the Hipparagi barrage for crops and everyday use. From 2004 to 2014, Maharashtra released water to Karnataka for farming, and in 2015, both states made a deal to share water. Under this deal, Karnataka promised to release water from one of its reservoirs in exchange for water from Maharashtra. However, the costs and plans for this project have increased from ₹300 crore to nearly ₹1,000 crore.