Published Apr 06, 2026 | 9:07 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 06, 2026 | 9:07 AM
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge said that tankers have been deployed in 76 villages.
Synopsis: Water scarcity has affected 324 villages across 60 taluks in 20 districts of Karnataka, with Ramanagara, Tumakuru and Raichur among the worst hit as summer sets in. The state government has initiated emergency measures, including funding support, water quality checks and rapid response systems, to manage the crisis and ensure alternative drinking water supply.
With the onset of summer, drinking water problems have arisen in 324 villages across 60 taluks in 20 districts of Karnataka.
Ramanagara leads the state with 27 gram panchayats already facing shortages, closely followed by Tumakuru (26 gram panchayats) and Raichur (22 gram panchayats). Even a region typically known for high rainfall, Uttara Kannada, is seeing 20 of its gram panchayats under stress.
Last year, the government had identified over 6,000 villages as being vulnerable to a drinking water crisis. At least 2,100 of these villages were in the seven Malnad districts that receive the highest rainfall in the state.
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge said that tankers have been deployed in 76 villages, while 280 private borewells are supplying water to the other 248 villages.
“Due to many water sources drying up in rural areas during the summer and the declining water levels in borewells, emergency drinking water works are being undertaken to resolve the drinking water problems that have arisen in some residential areas,” Kharge said in a post on X.
According to data shared by the RDPR Department, in Ramanagara, all five taluks and 27 gram panchayats that have been identified as vulnerable are already facing a crisis in the supply of drinking water.
The district is currently relying heavily on emergency measures, utilising 24 tankers in 23 villages and 32 private borewells in 32 villages.
Despite being part of the Krishna basin, five taluks and 22 gram panchayats of north Karnataka’s Raichur district are reporting shortages of drinking water. The government had flagged eight taluks and 100 gram panchayats in the district as ‘at risk’ during the summer season.
At least 36 villages are receiving water via private borewells. In fact, Raichur falls within the 33 percent of areas in the country classified as chronically drought-prone.
In Tumakuru, nine out of the 10 vulnerable taluks and 26 out of 100 at-risk gram panchayats are currently facing supply issues.
Kalaburagi has the highest number of gram panchayats (180) identified as vulnerable, of which only two have reported problems so far.
Meanwhile, Belagavi has the highest number of taluks (14) flagged as likely to face drinking water issues during the summer season, though none has witnessed the onset of the crisis yet.
In Bengaluru Urban, which has faced recurring summer shortages in recent years, the crisis has begun to resurface. Three out of five vulnerable taluks and six out of 23 gram panchayats have reported water supply issues so far. The district has a high tanker usage density, with eight tankers (seven departmental, one private) serving eight villages, with an average of 12 trips per day.
According to data presented in the Lok Sabha recently, five districts in the state overexploited groundwater in 2025, with Bengaluru Urban ranking second at 177.28 percent.
On the other hand, Bengaluru Rural has not yet reported shortages in its vulnerable areas.
In coastal regions, Uttara Kannada has two of its 12 vulnerable taluks and 20 of 170 gram panchayats under stress.
The state government has allocated ₹60 crore to districts for emergency drinking water works, Kharge said.
Additionally, ₹48 crore has been released to clear pending bills under a specialised task force (created in March 2026), while ₹14.5 crore has been earmarked for repairing purified drinking water units.
Authorities are also conducting water quality tests on all sources of drinking water in villages and residential areas. Water samples found to be of suspicious quality are being re-tested in laboratories, while steps are being taken to provide drinking water from alternative sources in place of contaminated water.
The department has also established a 24/7 control room and a rapid response team as an emergency measure.
To strengthen preparedness, review meetings are being held every second and fourth Monday with Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs) and zilla panchayat CEOs.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
