Jog waterfall in Karnataka on verge of drying up due to less rainfall

The mesmerizing Jog waterfall in Shivamogga is now struggling to hold its alluring vista due to the environmental challenge.

Tourists waited long to behold the beauty of the falls after it was reopened last week. However, the less amount of rainfall in the Western Ghats and Sharavati valley due to climate change created a relatively dull scenery around Jog falls.

Speaking to , noted environmentalist Shankar Sharma said, "The issue of much-reduced rainfall in the Malnad area and parts of Western Ghats has become a major concern for environmentalists, conservationists and meteorologists."

Pointing out the continuous reduction in forest cover, he said, "One of the most important reasons behind this is drastically reducing forest cover. The problem is that none of the political leaders and the so-called intellectuals are bothered about that. We have to massively increase the forest cover in these areas,"

Laying emphasis on the continuous deficit rainfall in the region, he cautioned that the famous waterfall may end up drying.

Meanwhile, India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist CS Patil predicted that the Malnad and coastal districts of Karnataka are likely to witness good rainfall in the coming weeks.

"So far Karnataka has received normal rainfall. However coastal, Malnad districts like Shivamogga, Chikkamagalur, Hassan and Kodagu received deficit rainfall from June 1 to July 7. On July 11, a low-pressure is very likely to form over the Bay of Bengal. Under this influence, monsoon winds are likely to become strong. Malnad and coastal districts are likely to experience widespread rainfall. Rainfall over the state of Karnataka is likely to become normal or above normal by the second half of July," Patil told .

( With inputs from ANI )