Mysuru: Despite steady inflows into Cauvery basin reservoirs, Mysuru is battling one of its worst rainfall deficits in recent years, with the district receiving 58% less rain than normal during the ongoing southwest monsoon.Meanwhile, experts warned that there may not be any major improvement in the rain, and minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to remain above normal in the coming days, adding to the pressure on the water availability for both farming and agriculture.According to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) data, Mysuru is the second-worst-hit district in the state after Vijayanagara (-59%). Chamarajanagar (-47%) and Mandya (-37%) have also recorded rainfall deficits.The poor rainfall has hit sowing, particularly in rain-fed areas of Mysuru district. Agriculture department data shows that sowing had covered 44.1% of the targeted area in Mysuru this year, against 59.3% during the corresponding period last year.Of the district’s target of over 1 lakh hectares of irrigated land and 2.7 lakh hectares of rain-fed land, farmers have so far sown only in 9,211 hectares under irrigation and 1.5 lakh hectares in rain-fed areas. With no water release from reservoirs, sowing in irrigated areas has been particularly affected.Among Mysuru taluks, T Narasipura has recorded the highest deficit at 65%.Former KSNDMC director G Srinivasa Reddy said the state was likely to experience a deficit rainfall year. “Except for localised weather events, the rainfall pattern is expected to remain the same till the end of the southwest monsoon,” he said.He added that the latest IMD forecast indicated that minimum and maximum temperatures could remain above normal in Aug and Sept potentially worsening the stress on agriculture.BoxDistrict minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah on Saturday reviewed the drought situation in HD Kote Taluk, one of the worst-hit taluks in Mysuru. Officials informed him that maize crops had been affected by fungal disease. They attributed the problem partly to farmers’ excessive reliance on urea and phosphorus fertilisers while neglecting potash. Officials said the lack of potash had weakened the crops’ disease resistance, making them more vulnerable to fungal infections.
