Drought Forces Hoovina Hadagali Farmer to Spend ₹1,000 Daily on Water Tankers to Save Onion Crop

Severe drought conditions and the failure of monsoon rains in Hoovina Hadagali taluk of Vijayanagara district have pushed local agricultural communities into extreme distress. In Kenchammanahalli village, a local farmer named Basavalingappa has resorted to desperate measures to salvage his standing onion crop cultivated across four acres of land. Due to the lack of timely rainfall and rapidly depleting groundwater levels, the onion plants began wilting, threatening total crop failure. To prevent catastrophic losses, Basavalingappa has been purchasing private water tankers every single day. With the cost of water supply and tractor transportation amounting to ₹1,000 daily, the financial strain on the agrarian family is escalating rapidly. Visiting the field in Kenchammanahalli to review the situation, Siddesh Uttangi, State President of the Onion Growers' Association, highlighted the severe plight of farmers across Hoovina Hadagali taluk. He urged the Karnataka state government to step in immediately by announcing a complete waiver of agricultural loans for drought-affected farmers in the taluk. Furthermore, he demanded an official crop loss compensation of at least ₹30,000 per acre for onion cultivators facing severe yield losses during this agricultural season.