Toxic tanker falls into Krishna; Alamatti, Bijapur under watch

The chemical wafted into the rivulet forcing the district administration to issue alert in surrounding villages. The people were warned not to consume water and were also directed to ensure that livestock weren't given river water for drinking.

Maharashtra has released additional water from the Koyna dam to dilute the impact of the chemical in the water. Though the problem has been addressed immediately, people are scared of contaminated water being collected in Hipparagi barrage and Almatti dam.

The backwaters of Almatti dam is supplied to Bijapur City, Basavana Bagewadi and Muddebihal towns and several villages. The lifting of water from the jackwells which supplies water to all these places, has been stopped on Thursday midnight.

No casualties

Assistant Commissioner Y S Patil said, “The contaminated water will reach Bijapur district by Saturday morning. So far, no casualties of aquatic animals have been reported in the backwaters of Almatti dam. Water samples have been sent to Hubli and Bangalore for testing. The staff and fishermen have kept a close watch on the aquatic creatures, he added.

The full reservoir level in Almatti is 519.6 metres and at present it stands at 515 metres (63 tmc feet). The inflow which was 4,000 cusec on Thursday, decreased to 1,300 cusec on Friday.  

“It takes a minimum of two days for the water to reach Bijapur district, from Karad, which is 200 km from here. There is no cause for panic even if the contaminated water gets mixed with the backwaters, as the quantity of contaminated water is comparatively less than the storage water,” says an official of KBJN.

He said that the colour and taste of the water were being observed on continuous basis and samples would be sent for testing in case of any slight difference. Apart from this, water is being filtered with charcoal and sand before being lifted from the jackwells, he added.