The floodwater submerges the bridge between Kalagi and Malaghan in Kalaburagi district.
DH photo
Kalaburagi: The rain continued to lash several parts of Kalyana Karnataka, resulting in loss of crops and damage to infrastructure, including roads and bridges. The normal life has been disrupted in Jewargi, Afzalpur, Kalagi, Chittapur, Chincholi and other parts of the district as the flood water entered many villages.
The bridge between Kalagi and Malaghan road has been submerged, and communication remained cut off throughout the day on Friday. The water level in Bennethora reservoir in Herur K village has reached 438.42 metres against its maximum level of 438.89 metres due to the inflow of 7,200 cusecs. Around 8,400 cusecs of water is being released through 6 gates.
Water has entered and damaged fields, houses, shrines, hotels, shops and community halls in Old Hebbal, Kanasur, Malaghan, Tengali and Kalagurthi villages situated on the banks of the river. Headmaster Mallappa Bittannavar said that the school has been declared a holiday due to the closure road at the Government Higher Primary School in Donnur village.
The bridge between Kanasur and Gotur villages has become dilapidated.
Tahsildar Prithviraj Patil has directed PWD officials to initiate measures to repair the roads and bridges.
Afzalpur tahsildar Sanju Kumar Dasar said that 110 houses are damaged so far due to continuous rain. He also alerted the people to adopt precautionary measures as there is a forecast of more rain.
The water has entered the canal near Karajagi-Mashal village of the taluk, and traffic has been disrupted owing to ongoing work on the National Highway. The crops have been damaged due to continuous rains in the taluk for a month. Therefore, the officials have stopped the crop damage assessment work. Zilla Panchayat Engineering Sub-Department Assistant Executive Engineer Baburao Jyoti said that the repair work of the damaged roads will be carried out after approval from the government.
Minister’s visit
Bidar District In-charge Minister Eshwar Khandre took stock of the situation by visiting the flood-affected villages on Friday and consoled the farmers who suffered loss due to crop damage and assured them of adequate compensation.
He visited the farmland in Kattitugaon, Halahalli, and Byalahalli villages adjacent to the Karanja reservoir in Bhalki taluk and heard the grievances of the farmers.
He also visited the Karanja dam and obtained information about the inflow and outflow from the engineers. Addressing the presspersons, the minister said that he had already explained to the Chief Minister about the damage caused by the continuous rain and floods in the district. “According to preliminary information, more than one lakh hectares of crops have been damaged across the district due to continuous rains for four to five days. Roads and bridges have been damaged in many places due to the flood. Wherever there are bridges in low-lying areas, I have directed the officials to submit a proposal to increase their height”, he said.
‘Fertile soil washed away’
Pointing out that the fertile soil of the fields on the river banks has been washed away and more damage occurred in Aurad, Kamalnagar, and Bhalki taluks, the minister said that all the officials of the district have been working round-the-clock to handle the flood situation. “I have also set up relief camps in the district and visited many places to assess the situation. Tur, soybean and other crops are damaged. The sugarcane crop is also destroyed due to stagnation of water. I have directed the officials to survey crop loss within 8-10 days”, he informed.
Municipal Administration Minister Rahim Khan, Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr Girish Badole, Karanja Reservoir AEE Vigneshwar, and other officials were present.
Animal Husbandry Department Deputy Director Raju Deshmukh and a team of veterinary officers have visited the islands situated on the banks of the Krishna river in Yadgir district. A total of 187 sheep were washed away in the river.