Karnataka: Special prayers performed to appease rain gods

Special poojas were conducted at various temples in the state on Thursday to appease rain gods.

State Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar held a Parjanya homa (pooja) in Chikkamagaluru, while another special ritual was performed at Belgaum's Savadatti Yellamma temple praying for rainfall.

This comes after Karnataka's Religious and Charitable Endowments Department announced that special prayers for rain will be performed at temples of the state on June 6.

The rituals were conducted in the presence of a number of priests during early afternoon.

Several districts of the state have been declared drought-ridden making water shortage a major concern for the state's government.

Reportedly, the combined live storage in all four reservoirs of the Cauvery basin -- Krishnaraja Sagar, Kabini, Hemavathi and Harangi -- is 13.93 tmcft as against their full live storage capacity of 104.55 tmcft.

To combat the crisis, the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) has also ordered Karnataka to release 9.19 tmcft of water for June from the Biligundlu reservoir on the interstate border to Mettur Dam in Tamil Nadu.