Bengaluru, Nov 15 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written a letter to the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar seeking early release of financial assistance from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for drought relief. "As you are aware, a large part of Karnataka is affected by severe drought. The delayed monsoon coupled with sluggish progress during June resulted in deficit rainfall, which is the third lowest in the last 122 years for the state. Thereafter, there were spells of heavy rains during the 3rd and 4th week of July, which was only confined to 10 days. "Many farmers were unable to take up sowing in early July because of rainfall deficiency in June. However, during August 2023, the crucial phase for agriculture and horticulture crops growth, Karnataka as a whole received 73 per cent deficit rainfall, which is the lowest in the last 122 years for the month of August," the letter read. It mentioned that Karnataka has witnessed above normal temperatures along with large deficit rainfall during August and "this has severely affected the standing crops in large parts of the rain-fed areas". During September, interior parts of the state which comprises major Kharif area witnessed deficit rainfall which resulted in soil moisture stress during maturity stage of the crops. Moreover, the drought conditions have further deteriorated during October. After adhering to all norms and procedures delineated in the Drought Manual 2020, Karnataka has declared drought in 223 taluks out of 236 taluks out of which 196 taluks are categorised as severely drought affected. The state government on September 22 submitted the Kharif Drought Memorandum seeking funds from NDRF for undertaking drought relief and mitigation measures in the 195 drought affected taluks. Consequently, a 10-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team visited some of the drought affected areas of Karnataka from October 5 to October 9 to assess the gravity of the drought situation in the state. For Kharif 2023, the agriculture and horticulture crop loss have been reported in more than 48 lakh hectares with the estimated loss (cost of cultivation) of Rs 35,162.05 crore. The state government has sought Rs 18,171.44 crore from NDRF for undertaking drought relief measures in the state. The state government has been seeking Rs 12,577.9 crore to facilitate payment of Gratuitous Relief towards subsistence of the Small and Marginal Farmers whose lives and families. /IANS