Bengaluru, Sept 17 The Karnataka government on Thursday declared 23 more taluks drought-affected, taking the total number of drought-hit taluks notified so far to 124, amid dry conditions in several parts of the state.
In the first phase, on August 27, the government had declared 101 taluks drought-hit for Kharif 2026. On the directions of the Cabinet sub-committee on natural disasters, headed by Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, ground-truthing was conducted through a mobile application in 214 villages across 24 taluks. Based on the ground-truthing exercise and the comprehensive report submitted by the KSNDMC, 23 additional taluks have now been declared drought-affected, a press release said.
Government Responds to Drought Conditions
In response to ongoing drought conditions, the government has empowered deputy commissioners overseeing district disaster management authorities to implement necessary relief and response measures, following the guidelines set by the State Disaster Response Fund.
Additionally, the agriculture commissioner, the director of Horticulture, and relevant deputy commissioners have been tasked with conducting crop-loss surveys. They are required to submit relief assessment reports to the government as soon as possible.
The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) will monitor the drought situation weekly, particularly as forecasts predict below-normal rainfall for September. The government also indicated that more taluks will be designated as drought-affected in phases, depending on their eligibility.
