Tumakuru (Karnataka) [India], September 12 : Amid the drought conditions across Karnataka, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara has ruled out leading a delegation to the Centre to seek drought relief for now, saying the government will instead submit a written request and all the affected taluks can be included in the second request.
This comes even as 101 taluks have already been declared drought-affected earlier under Central norms, with the situation set to be reviewed again to identify more eligible areas. 
"I will not go on a delegation now. We will submit a request through a letter. For the second time, all the taluks of the state can be included in the second request. After that, many people, including the constituency MLAs and the CM, will meet and submit a request," he told reporters.
Earlier on September 1, Parameshwara had said the state would decide on relief measures for farmers only after completing its assessment, since drought declaration and assistance must follow Union Government guidelines.
"We will submit a comprehensive drought memorandum to the Union Government within the next two weeks. Thereafter, Central teams will visit the State and carry out an assessment. Relief funds will be released only after that process. We will not receive any drought relief from the Centre before this," he said.
Citing weather forecasts, he said rainfall could largely stop by early September. "We are facing this situation after 123 years due to El Nino. We cannot say with certainty that there will be further rainfall. Therefore, we will have to decide how best to support farmers in the coming days," he said. 
Meanwhile, Karnataka Water Resources Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy, along with state Minister HK Patil, has flagged off a cloud seeding programme organised by the Water Resources Department at HAL Airport in Bengaluru, with the state hoping for rainfall to provide relief to farmers and address concerns over drinking water and agriculture.