BENGALURU: Successive droughts and depletion of groundwater table in Karnataka has destroyed a whopping 2.28 crore arecanut and coconut trees.
"The state has witnessed low rainfall this year too and farmers are finding it difficult to source water even after drilling borewells up to 1,200 feet, the situation is getting worse," law minister T B Jayachandra told reporters here on Monday while pointing to an imminent horticultural crisis.
The major coconut and arecanut growing districts in the state are Tumakuru, Hassan, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Shivamogga and the coastal region.
Jayachandra said while 45 lakh coconut trees have been hit by disease around 1.83 crore arecanut trees have withered away because of lack of adequate water. The total area where arecanut has been affected is 0.51 lakh hectares.
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