Dharmastala: Considering the acute water shortage and drought-hit conditions prevailing across the state, the management of the Dharmastala temple in Dakshin Kannada has issued a travel advisory to its pilgrims requesting them to postpone their travel to the holy temple till the month ends.
Out of the 176 taluks in Karnataka, 156 have been declared drought-hit with Dakshin Kannada district is reeling under the pressure of acute water scarcity.
The temple management has taken note of the depleting water levels of the Netravati river, a source of water for the district. In view of these circumstances and to avoid inconvenience to pilgrims, the deacon at Sri Manjunatheshwara temple, Dr Veerendra Hegde, has requested devotees to defer their scheduled pilgrimage.
"The water levels in Netravati is depleting, here in Dakshin Kannada we are releasing water through ration shops and people are getting that only for 2-3 days in the week. Since pilgrims need water, they will be face inconveniences. So we have asked them to reschedule their visit," he said.
This advisory comes in the backdrop of the Central Water Commission issuing an advisory to 6 states including Karnataka to 'use water judiciously'.
Letters were sent to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana late last week, said S K Haldar, a member of the Central Water Commission (CWC).
The drought advisory was issued to states when the water level in reservoirs reached 20 percent less than the average of live water storage figures in the past 10 years.
Of the 31 reservoirs in the southern states, 14 from Karnataka are monitored by the CWC and are said to have a total live storage capacity of 51.59 BCM. However, the total live storage available in these reservoirs has reduced to 6.86 BCM, which is only 13 per cent of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs.
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