Sullia: The border region of Karnataka and Kerala is facing acute shortage of water and with this, Sullia taluk is witnessing one of the worst droughts.
Lifeline of the region, River Payaswini has dried up completely leaving the locals worried. The situation is such that the rocks bedded into he river are now visible and all in all the entire expanse of the river looks like a desert. Only the caverns and pits in the river have some bit of water in them and drawing this water is bringing no solace, neither to people, nor to animals.
Earlier this month, some parts of Kodagu, i.e, Jodupala and Monnangeri had experienced decent amount of rainfall. Sullia town too had received good rainfall in the past two days. Although the water has begun flowing from the valleys to River Payaswini, it has not succeeded in percolating here to breathe life into the river.
The water flowing through areas like Sampaje, Koynadu, Chembu, Kallugundi, Aranthodu and Aramburu are slushy. Even then this is being seen as a positive sign bringing in slight relief.
According to the people of the town, this situation is similar to that of 2016, the last time the river went dry.
Another reason for the shortage in ground water level is the Kodagu floods of 2018, say many. It is said that the calamity took toll on the capacity of the land to absorb water. Landslides too have brought down many hills affecting the water level.
