Rivers overflow, bridges submerged

Rain continued to batter parts of the State, particularly Shimoga, Uttara Kannada and some districts of North Karnataka on Saturday.

The water level in the major reservoirs was on the rise, while overflowing rivers submerged bridges and roads, throwing normal life out of gear.

Movement of vehicles came to a standstill for hours due to landslide on National Highway 17 near Karkinaka in Honnavar of Uttara Kannada district on Saturday morning.

The incessant rain that lashed the region since Friday night caused landslips and damaged several houses at Muttige in Siddapur, Koppa and Sonarakeri in Bhatkal taluk.

However, water level came down in the Rivers Sharavati and Gangavali which were flowing above the danger mark. But, the River Aghanashini continued to overflow, marooning the nearby fields and farms.

As the water level increased by Friday night, residents of more than 10 villages spent sleepless night, fearing the floods.

Fishermen rescued

Four fishermen were rescued when their trawler sank in the Arabian Sea on Saturday.
Gusty winds on the Arabian Sea washed away the trawler which sank near Koormagad island.

However, all the four men in it were rescued by fellow fishermen. They claimed a loss of Rs 12 lakh.

Bridges submerged

Krishna and its tributaries have swollen and four bridges across river Krishna, Doodhganga and Vedganga are under water.

Residents of villages along the banks of the rivers were forced to use alternative roads and travel long distances to reach their destinations.

Heavy rain across Sahyadri range and Koyna in Maharashtra also led to increase in inflow from Rajapur barrage to 81,945 cusec.

Incessant rain in Khanapur taluk, Belgaum, since Friday evening disrupted normal life. The bridge linking Khanapur town with Asoga was under Malaprabha waters.

Traffic on the Sindhanur-Hemmadga State Highway was thrown out of gear for a while as the rivers Pandari, Mahadayi and their tributaries overflowed.

Trees were uprooted disrupting power supply to the rain-battered villages of Hemmadga, Tivoli, Shiroli, Amgaon, Chikle, Parwad, Abnal and Akrali since Friday.

26 crest gates open

All the 26 crest gates of the Almatti reservoir were opened on Saturday, releasing 66,000 cusec of water to the River Krishna. The water level stood at 519 metre in the dam of 519.6-m height.

The inflow into the reservoir has increased to 68,000 cusec. Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar is likely to offer ‘bagina’ to Krishna on Sunday.

After a respite for two days, rain was active across Shimoga district on Saturday.

Heavy rains in the catchment areas increased the water level in Linganamakki reservoir to 1791.50 ft against the maximum of 1819 ft.

However, compared to the corresponding period last year, the storage is less by 13 feet.
Water level in Bhadra reservoir too increased to 161.10 feet with an inflow of 18,930 cusec and outflow 2,993 cusec.

Water in Tunga reservoir has already reached its maximum level of 588 feet.