CHITRADURGA
Scheduled Castes Welfare and District In-charge Minister T. Raghumurthy said drought-hit taluks in Karnataka were identified according to central government guidelines, leaving no scope for political influence or bias.
He was speaking at a press conference at the District Collector’s Office.
The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre assessed drought conditions using the Central Government’s Drought Management Manual 2020. In the first phase, 101 taluks across the state were declared drought-affected, including 89 severely affected and 12 moderately affected taluks. In Chitradurga district, Hiriyur, Challakere and Hosadurga were included in the severe drought category.
Raghumurthy said Chitradurga, Holalkere and Molakalmuru were not included because they did not meet the required technical conditions. Under the guidelines, drought assessment considers rainfall deficiency and three consecutive weeks of dry weather. He said the three excluded taluks could be reviewed again if conditions worsen.
The minister said further assessment would consider crop conditions, satellite-based vegetation data, soil moisture and groundwater levels. Field inspections would also be conducted to verify the actual situation. He said drought conditions would continue to be reviewed through the 2026 Kharif season, based on rainfall and crop impact, and additional taluks could be declared drought-hit when necessary.
Raghumurthy said uneven rainfall remained a concern in Chitradurga district and suggested considering hoblis instead of entire taluks for drought declarations. He said this could help provide assistance to farmers facing severe local problems. The minister assured that the government would examine crop damage and ground conditions before taking further decisions. Deputy Commissioner T. Venkatesh, Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr. Akash and Additional Deputy Commissioner B.T. Kumaraswamy attended the briefing.