Copious rain nearly fills dams

Rivers swelling, bridges submerged, temples and roads inundated

Heavy rainfall in most parts of the State in the last few days has thrown life out of gear. Most of the bridges are submerged and landslides are affecting traffic flow on road and rail routes.

Several houses have been damaged and rivers are facing threats of flood. Most of the dams are brimming and surplus water is being let out through crest gates.

The Tungabhadra dam in Hospet is full and 1,74,344 cusecs of water is being released from 33 crest gates. The Purandara Dasara Mantapa, Vaidika Mantapa, Onake Kindi, Koti Linga structures in Hampi are submerged. Water has gushed into the fields in Hosur, Hampi, Sanapur, Itagi, Belagodahaalu, Siraguppa and the surrounding regions and crops have been extensively damaged. 

The Kampli-Gangavathi bridge is submerged and the Hole Anjaneya Temple at Kampli is inundated. The district administration has warned the people residing along the Tungabhadra river bank to shift to safer locations.

Due to good rainfall in the Western Ghats, the dams in the Krishna basin are full. For the first time, all the 26 crest gates of Almatti dam have been opened. KPCL sources have informed that 270 MW of hydel power is being generated from the power stations at the dam. 

Meanwhile, water level in Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mandya district has reached 117.3 feet.

Rivers swelling

Water inflow from Maharashtra into River Krishna and its tributaries continued to increase in Belgaum district. Water discharge from Kalammawadi dam into River Doodhganga increased to 23,936 cusecs and from Rajapur barrage into River Krishna increased to 1,38,426 cusecs.

 Low-lying bridges between Kallol-Yadur, Mallikwad-Dattawad, Karadga-Bhoj, Jatrat-Bhiveshi, Akkol-Sidnal and Bhojwadi-Kunnar remain submerged. Kuduchi, Shirgur, Siddapur, Khemlapur and Bavansavadatti villages are facing flood threats. Khanapur received a record rainfall of 1,790 centimetres until July 31. Rivers Malaprabha, Mahadayi and Pandari are swelling and 13 houses have been damaged in Khanapur taluk.

Haveri district recorded a total of 44.2 mm rainfall on Saturday and as many as 293 houses have partially collapsed. Crops cultivated on 459 hectares of land have been destroyed and the inflow in Varada and Tungabhadra rivers have increased.

Water was let out from the six crest gates of Hemavathi dam in Gorur taluk in Hassan district. Trains on Saklespur-Subrahmanya and Shiravagilu-Yadakumeri rail routes were halted due to landslides. This has cut off train service between Bangalore and Mangalore.

In Udupi district, two-year-old Sai Bhuvan was killed when a house collapsed at Bangle Gudde in Karkala on Saturday. District-in-Charge Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake distributed a cheque valued at Rs 1.5 lakh to the family. The Kumaradhara bridge connecting Kukke Subrahmanya temple has been opened for traffic movement. At least 21 houses at Kemral in Mulki have marooned.

Drizzling in Kodagu

It has been drizzling in Madikeri, Bhagamandala, Napoklu, Gonikoppa, Virajpet and Somwarpet in Kodagu district. The Bhagamandala-Ayyangeri Road is submerged. Traffic on Bhagamandala-Madikeri Road is now thrown open. An ox was washed away in the flood at Galibeedu. Another cattle was killed following rain at Madare in Somwarpet taluk. 

Heavy rain that had lashed Shimoga district for the past one week receded, on Saturday. Hosanagar, Sagar and Thirthahalli received moderate rain. Schools and colleges remained closed on August 2. Land slide was reported in Hosanagar taluk. Traffic between Shimoga and Udupi via Agumbe have resumed. As a precautionary measure, people living in the areas close to River Bhadra have been instructed to shift to safer places.