The state of Karnataka in India experiences diverse rainfall quantities across its regions. While Malnad and Coastal Karnataka receive copious amount of rainfall; its north Bayaluseemae region in the Deccan Plateau is one of the most arid regions in the country. Most of the rains received in the state is during the monsoon season. Being an agrarian economy with a large percentage of its citizens engaged in agriculture, the failure of rains can have a crippling effect on the economy of the state. Apart from the benefits in agriculture, the Government of Karnataka has tried to avail other benefits of rainfall using scientific methods. An example of this is the project, Rainwater Harvesting in Rural Karnataka which is initiated by the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology and is one of the largest rainwater harvesting projects in the world.[1]Agumbe in the Shimoga district, Amagaon in Belgaum District, Hulikal again in Shimoga district and Talakaveri in Madikeri are some of the known places with the highest annual rainfall in South India. Of this Amagaon has received over 10000mm rain fall twice in 10 years.
Agumbe and Hulikal in Shivamogga District of Western Ghat region is considered as "Cheerapunji of South India" but still some places in Western Ghats region had resulted much more rainfall than these two villages. Amagaon in Belgaum District recorded magical number of 10,068mm in the year 2010, Mundrote in Kodagu district recorded 9974mm in the year 2011.
The table below compares rainfall between Agumbe in Thirthahalli taluk in Shimoga district, Hulikal in Hosanagara taluk in Shimoga district, Amagaon in Khanapur Taluk in Belgaum district and Talacauvery and Mundrote in Madikeri taluk in Kodagu district, Kokalli of Sirsi Taluk, Nilkund of Siddapur Taluk, CastleRock of Supa (Joida) Taluk in Uttara Kannada District, Kollur in Udupi District to show which one can be called the "Cherrapunji of South India".
The economy of Karnataka is mainly agrarian and most of it is dependent on the rainfall; mainly the southwest monsoon. The extent of arid land in the state is second only to Rajasthan.[15] Only 26.5% of sown area (30,900km²) is subjected to irrigation and hence the rest of the cultivated land is entirely dependent on rainfall.[16] Rainfall also influences the quantity of water available in the rivers which in turn influences the amount of drinking water available to the population and the amount of electricity that can be generated in the hydroelectric power stations in the state. The importance of rainfall is such that Karnataka sometimes had to resort to costly artificial methods like cloud seeding in order to induce rain artificially.[17] Rainfall is also crucial to recharge the depleting ground water and Karnataka has come up with innovative methods like rainwater harvesting in order to solve the drinking water scarcity in the state.
Rainwater harvesting
Karnataka is a pioneer in the concept of rainwater harvesting with The Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) implementing one of the largest rainwater harvesting projects in the world. 23683 schools in rural Karnataka were selected for this project with the main goal of providing drinking water by using the method of rooftop harvesting.[1] In this project, rainwater collected on the rooftop is channeled through a system of PVC pipes and stored in an enclosed surface tank. The pipeline consists of a first-flush filter which flushes out the first rainfall along with other contaminants that may exist on the roof and then subsequent cleaner rainwater is allowed to pass on to the tank. A sand bed filter is used to further eliminate impurities in the water before it gets collected in the tank.[1] Further precautions are taken to prevent dust and insects from entering the tank.
Consequences
Deficient rainfall
A year of deficient rainfall leads to the following consequences:
Agricultural output will be impacted: While this has a direct impact on the economy of the state, it also leads to other social issues like the suicide of farmers. Due to the crop failure, the farmers would not be in a position to repay the loans they had taken for agriculture and few of them take an extreme step of suicide.[18]
Drinking water scarcity: A lot of towns and cities in Karnataka are dependent on rivers for the supply of drinking water and any deficiency in rainfall leads to the lesser amount of drinking water being supplied to the homes.
Shortage of electricity: Deficient rainfall leads to a drop in the amount of electricity produced by hydroelectric projects and hence drastic measures like compulsory power cuts have to be employed to counter this shortage.[19]
Excess rainfall
Heavy rains can lead to a significant loss of life and property and also cause damage to the crops.[20] Excess rains also cause an impact in major cities with inundated roads causing traffic jams. An example of this was in the year 2005 when the Madivala lake overflowed on to the Hosur Road in Bangalore forcing many schools and offices to close.[21]
Rainfall distribution
The average annual rainfall in Karnataka is 1248 mm.[22] The state is divided into three meteorological zones. North Interior Karnataka, South Interior Karnataka, and Coastal Karnataka. Coastal Karnataka with an average annual rainfall of 3456 mm is one of the most rainy regions in the country. Contrasting this, South Interior Karnataka and North Interior Karnataka receive only 1126 and 731 mm of average annual rainfall.[23]
↑ Amagaon has got over 10,000mm annual rainfall twice in the five years (2006-2010). The exact amount of rainfall is not available. See Amagaon is now Cherrapunji of South from DeccanHerald.com accessed 23 March 2013
Karnataka is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, and renamed Karnataka in 1973. The state is bordered by the Lakshadweep Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Telangana to the northeast, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. With 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Karnataka is the eighth-largest state by population, comprising 31 districts. With 15,257,000 residents, the state capital Bangalore is the largest city of Karnataka.
Uttara Kannada is a fifth largest district in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belagavi districts to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shivamogga District, and Udupi District to the south, and the Laccadive Sea to the west. Karwar is the district headquarters, Kumta and Sirsi are the major commercial centers in the district. The district's agroclimatic divisions include the coastal plain consisting of Karwar, Ankola, Kumta, Honnavar Bhatkal taluks and Malenadu consisting of Sirsi, Siddapur, Yellapur, Haliyal, Dandeli, Joida, Mundgod taluks.
Talakaveri or Talacauvery is the place that is generally considered to be the source of the river Kaveri and a holy place for many Hindus. It is located on Brahmagiri hills near Bhagamandala in Kodagu district (Coorg), in the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is located close to the border with Kasaragod district, Kerala. Talakaveri stands at a height of 1,276 meters above sea level. Despite its traditional status as the source of the Kaveri, there is no permanent visible flow from this place to the main rivercourse, except during the monsoon rains.
Malnad is a region in the state of Karnataka, India. Malenadu covers the western and eastern slopes of the Western Ghats mountain range and is roughly 100 kilometers in width. It includes the districts of Uttara Kannada, Chikmagalur, Chamarajanagar, Udupi, Belgaum, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Kodagu, Shimoga. The region experiences heavy annual rainfall of 1,000–3,800 millimetres ; it includes the village of Agumbe, which receives the highest annual rainfall in Karnataka.
Mysore district, officially Mysuru district, is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mysore division. Chamarajanagar District was carved out of the original larger Mysore District in the year 1998. The district is bounded by Chamrajanagar district to the southeast, Mandya district to the east and northeast, Kerala state to the south, Kodagu district to the west, and Hassan district to the north.
Agumbe is a village situated in the Thirthahalli taluka of Shivamogga district, Karnataka, India. It is nestled in the thickly forested Malenadu region of the Western Ghats mountain range. Owing to its high rainfall, it has received the epithet of "The Cherrapunji of South India", after Cherrapunji, one of the rainiest places in India.
Udupi district is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara old north Malabar coastal region. There are seven taluks, 233 villages and 21 towns in Udupi district. The three northern tehsils of Udupi, Kundapur and Karkala, were partitioned from Dakshina Kannada district to form Udupi district on 25 August 1997. Moodabidri was officially declared as new tehsil (taluk) in 2018.
Shimoga district, officially known as Shivamogga district, is a district in the Karnataka state of India. A major part of Shimoga district lies in the Malnad region or the Sahyadri. Shimoga city is its administrative centre. Jog Falls view point is a major tourist attraction. As of 2011 Shimoga district has a population of 17,52,753. There are seven taluks: Soraba, Sagara, Hosanagar, Shimoga, Shikaripura, Thirthahalli, and Bhadravathi. Channagiri and Honnali were part of Shimoga district until 1997 when they became part of the newly formed Davanagere district.
Hosanagara is a panchayat town in Shimoga district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is nested in western ghats of India. The World Cattle Conference with main emphasis on cow was held in month of April 2007 in Hosanagar. The different uses of cow were exhibited. Near Hosanagar there is a mutt named Sri Ramachandrapura Math, 6 km from the town.
Hukkeri is a Town Municipal Council and taluka in Belgavi district in the Indian state of Karnataka.
Varahi River originate and flows through Western Ghats in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is also known as Halady or Haladi river in downstream areas. It joins the Arabian sea after flowing through places like Halady, Basrur, Kundapura and Gangolli. It joins with the Souparnika River, Kedaka River, Chakra River, and Kubja River which are known by Panchagangavalli River and merges into the Arabian Sea. Pancha means five in Kannada and Samskrita and Ganga means river. According to mythology, Varaha is one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Varahi is the sister of lord Varaha-vishnu
Hebri is a town and taluk headquarters in the Udupi district of Karnataka, at the foot of the Western Ghats of India in Karnataka state. It was first inaugurated as a taluk in 2018. It is a main junction and a central point of roads leading to Mangalore, Brahmavar, Karkala, Kundapura, Agumbe, Shivamogga and Udupi. The area's forests receive high rainfall throughout the year. Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary is located nearby, which covers the entire route till Agumbe and the western Ghats. The sanctuary houses a number of endangered species including the King Cobra.
Karnataka, the sixth largest state in India, has been ranked as the third most popular state in the country for tourism in 2014. It is home to 507 of the 3600 centrally protected monuments in India, second only to Uttar Pradesh. The State Directorate of Archaeology and Museums protects an additional 752 monuments and another 25,000 monuments are yet to receive protection.
The Indian State of Karnataka is located between 11°30' North and 18°30' North latitudes and between 74° East and 78°30' East longitude.It is situated on a tableland where the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats converge into the complex, in the western part of the Deccan Peninsular region of India. The State is bounded by Maharashtra and Goa States in the north and northwest; by the Lakshadweep Sea in the west; by Kerala in the south-west and Tamil Nadu in the south and south-east, Andhra Pradesh in the south-east and east and Telangana in the north-east. Karnataka extends to about 850 km (530 mi) from north to south and about 450 km (280 mi) from east to west.
Ghat Roads are access routes into the mountainous Western and Eastern Ghats, mountain ranges of the Indian subcontinent. These roads are remarkable feats of engineering, and most were constructed during the British Raj. Ghat Roads were built to connect to the hill stations established in the mountains for residents to avoid summer heat. They generally served to connect coastal areas with the upper Deccan Plateau.
Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected wildlife sanctuary in the Western Ghats of Karnataka state in India. It is named after the presiding deity "Lord Someshwara" of the famed Someshwara temple located within the sanctuary. The sanctuary lies in Udupi & Shivamogga districts of Karnataka, below Agumbe. The sanctuary houses Sitanadi nature camp run by Karnataka Forest Department. Udupi to Agumbe road passes through this wildlife sanctuary. The nearest town is Hebri which is connected by bus service to Udupi, Mangaluru and Bengaluru on a daily basis.
Karnataka State Highway 1, commonly referred to as KA SH 1, is a normal state highway that runs north through Udupi, Shimoga, Haveri, Dharwad and Belgaum districts in the state of Karnataka. This state highway touches numerous cities and villages Viz.Karkala, Agumbe, Thirthahalli and Dharwad. The total length of the highway is 450 km.
Amagaon is a village in Belagavi district bordered by Goa in west in the southern state of Karnataka, India. Amagaon nestles in the dense forests of the Western Ghats in and is known for its heavy rainfall. It is known to get over 10,000 mm annual rainfall occasionally and the average annual rainfall is around 9,000 mm. It is also called as Cherrapunji of South India
Masthikatte is a village located in Hosanagara Taluk, Shimoga district, Karnataka, India.pincode 577425
Hulikal is a village located in the Hosanagara taluk of the Shimoga district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is known for its heavy rainfall. The Hulikal village lies in the Western Ghat region of Karnataka state. The range of ghat is known by the name Hulikal ghat or Balebare ghat. The road running between Hosangadi and Mastikatte through Hulikal ghati connects the coastal district of Udupi with Shivamogga (Shimoga) district. The Mani dam reservoir and Savehoklu reservoir are nearby. KPCL has its colony at Mastikatte near to Hulikal. The nearest airport is at Mangalore, situated 123 km south-west of Hulikal. It has an elevation of 600m.
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