A few districts in North Karnataka have been facing a drought even as several districts in coastal and Malnad regions – including Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkmagaluru, Kodagu and Hassan – have been flooded due to incessant rain.

The state Cabinet will meet on August 31 to assess the drought situation and take a decision on declaring the districts drought-hit, The Hindu quoted Minister for Revenue RV Deshpande as saying.

“A few districts in North Karnataka, besides Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Chitradurga face acute rain shortage,” Deshpande said, according to Deccan Herald.

The minister said he has instructed deputy commissioners to survey the drought-hit areas using drones and submit a report before August 29. “I have instructed the deputy commissioners to ensure that there [are] no complaints of scarcity of drinking water and fodder,” he said, adding that the state government has already released Rs 5 crore to each district.

Deshpande also chaired a meeting with government officers after visiting areas facing poor rainfall in Bagalkot district.

Fifteen out of 30 districts in the state have received deficient rains this year, according to The Times of India. Met officials attribute the uneven distribution to peculiar features of this year’s monsoon where strong westerly brought heavy rainfall to the west coast, while low pressure from the Bay of Bengal mainly affected central India.