Flood turns hamlet into island

The cup of miseries seems to have filled up for people in Neelakantarayanagaddi, in Shorapur taluk of Yadgir district, which has turned an island thanks to heavy discharges from the Almatti and Narayanpur reservoirs.

The ordeal has virtually become routine for the people whenever there are floods, and the powers that be don’t just seem to be bothered.

Some people did swim in the water to reach the venue of the weekly shandy at Kakkera to buy essential commodities. The work on building a bridge to help the residents could not be completed as rains set in.

Surapur tahsildar Suresh Ankalagi has asked people not to venture into the water and promised to arrange boats for ferrying them.

Copious rains in the catchments of River Krishna and its tributaries in Maharashtra have been causing water levels to rise. The inflow to the state was 1.69 lakh cusecs on Wednesday. Krishna and its tributaries Doodhganga and Vedganga were flowing above the danger marks, posing threat to standing crops along the banks.

A flood situation is likely to arise by the weekend if the inflow continues at the same rate.

Six low-lying bridges in Chikkodi taluk along Rivers Krishna, Doodhganga and Vedganga continue to remain under water for the second consecutive week. Kuduchi bridge across Krishna at in Raibag taluk, a vital road link between Karnataka and Maharashtra got submerged in river water on Tuesday, and continues to remain under water for the second day. Chikkodi, Nippani, Raibag and Athani taluks have been facing a threat of floods due to the flow from Maharashtra and the occasional mild showers. Water inflow into Krishna from Rajapur barrage was 1.41 lakh cusecs and into 28,864 cusecs into Doodhganga on Wednesday. Inflow into Hippargi barrage is 1.68 lakh cusecs and outflow 1.67 lakh cusecs.

Light showers lashed Kodagu district on Wednesday. With the reduction in rainfall, farmers intensified farming activities. Water level in Triveni Sangama and Bhagamandala has receded. After a week, schools in the district reopened on Wednesday.

Moderate rains lashed several parts of Shivamogga district. Shivamogga, Thirthahalli, Sagara, Hosanagara, Bhadravathi, Shikaripura and Sorab received showers intermittently. The inflow was 42,025 cusecs into Tunga dam and the outflow 40,880 cusecs. Sea erosions conbtinued at many places in Bhatkal taluk, Uttara Kannada district.