(This story originally appeared in on Dec 05, 2015)

BENGALURU/HUBBALLI/CHITRADURGA: It's as if the rain gods have been partial. While much of south Karnataka received heavy rain over the past few weeks, the north saw no end to its long dry spell. Almatti dam in Vijayapura faced its worst year since its completion in 2005. The water catchment is not even half full. While its capacity is 32.23 tmc ft, the dam is just 15.61 tmc ft full.The dam's position is a worrying indicator of the situation in north Karnataka. In the worst drought in 40 years, northern districts have registered 70 per cent deficiency in rainfall.The result: Both rabi and kharif crops have been wiped out.Analysts in the revenue department said this is unprecedented with both crops failing in the same year. According to revenue department data, of 74 lakh hectares of primarily kharif crop, 8 lakh hectares saw no sowing due to absence of rains in the early part of monsoon. Of the rest 66 lakh hectares, the drought has wiped out 37 lakh hectares of crops. These primarily include oilseeds, foodgrains and pulses.With the rabi season in, the farmers in north Karnataka are already facing water woes. While sowing took place in September-October, subsequent dry spells have spelt doom for most farmers in these regions.In Chitradurg a district, groundnuts are a major cultivation crop, apart from sunflower."But in the past four years, even this has come down due to scanty and untimely rainfall. Farmers generally sow groundnut seeds by July 15, anticipating the rains.But this year, seeds are being eaten away by ants and pigs," said GS Ujjanappa, former secretary of Chitradurga district progressive farmer's forum. A few farmers tried their hand at growing tur dal in the district but that failed too, he added.What's the reason for the persistent drought? Water resources department blame it on "ill fate" and a "bad year". But experts with the Karnataka State Disaster Management Cell claim it is due to politics over water resources and mismanagement.According to experts, the Krishna river basin alone has the potential to generate 903 tmc ft of water for the state but only 700 tmc ft of water is utilized due to lopsided water management and lack of political will.As a result, there is a shortage in water distribution in much of the Krishna river basin region. As per official data, 56 per cent of the districts in north Karnataka are covered under the Krishna river basin. According to water resources minister M B Patil, the water crisis and drought are primarily due to a failed monsoon and lack of available water in catchment areas.Water resources department under-secretary Anil Kumar Marali said the dry spell in Maharashtra has had a cascading effect on the state as well. "Every year rainfall in the Maharashtra catchment area for Krishna river would ensure surplus water in the Almatti reservoir. But this time around, with failed monsoon in that state we are also facing a crisis," he said.(Inputs from Sandeep Moudgal, Sangamesh Menasinakai, Aravind H M and K Ranganath)