Rain, swollen rivers bring misery to Kalyana Karnataka districts

The fresh round of monsoon rains has left a trail of havoc in Kalyana Karnataka districts, where the incessant rains and overflowing rivers have submerged crops on thousands of acres and severely affected road traffic.

The showers continued to pound Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Bidar districts on Friday infusing life into the waterbodies.

A farmer from Birala (K) village in Jewargi taluk, Kalabuagi district, lost 5,800 papaya trees following the flooding of a stream. The farmer, Khaja Hussaini, had cultivated papaya on land taken on lease. The loss is estimated to be Rs 35 lakh. Farmers of several villages in Jewargi taluk have lost ready-to-harvest cotton due to flooding.

The Kalagi-Malghan road was closed for traffic on Friday following the flooding of a bridge on the stretch due to heavy outflow from Bennethora reservoir. The swollen Bennethora river has flooded several villages including Hale Hebbal, Kanasuru, Malghan, Tengali and Kalgurthi. A holiday has been declared at Donur government high primary school on Saturday due to flooding.

Crop loss on 1L hectares

The flood situation in Bidar district is no different. The overflowing Manjra and Karanja rivers have meandered their way to villages and farms. District Minister Eshwar Khandre on Friday took stock of the flood situation in several villages in Bhalki, Aurad and Kamalnagar taluks. Khandre said crops on over 1 lakh hectares have been damaged in the recent rains in the district. He instructed the officials to hold a crop damage survey and submit details in the portal in 10 days. He assured the affected farmers of taking steps to provide them with adequate compensation.

Meanwhile, flood alert has been raised in the villages and towns on the banks of downstream Tungabhadra river following increase in outflows. As much as 55,512 cusec of water was released from TB dam through 14 crest gates. With the dam receiving copious inflows, the outflow is expected to go further up in the next few days. Several monuments in Hampi and Anegundi have gone under floodwaters for the fifth time this season.

The coastal region and the Malnad districts have been experiencing heavy rain. Several villages in Honnavar taluk of Uttara Kannada districts faced flooding after 75,000 cusec of water was released into Sharavathi river from Gerusoppa dam. The  villagers were moved to 15 gruel centres opened in the affected villages.

Heavy rain inundated the highway and roads in Bhatkal town, causing hardships to motorists. The stagnation of rainwater had affected traffic on Gokarna-Sirsi state highway at Madanageri village near Gokarna. A minor mudslide was reported at Colonel Hill in Honnavar.

Castle Rock in Uttara Kannada recorded a massive 200 mm of rain in the last 24 hours (ending 8.30 am on Friday)

Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district also saw intermittent spells of heavy rain on Friday.

Jog Falls regains glory

There is no respite from heavy rain in Shivamogga district, where the reservoirs are getting copious inflows. Linganamakki dam is just two feet away from reaching its full reservoir level. The outflows from the dam have infused life into the famed Jog Falls. Tunga, Bhadra and Mani dams are inching closer to their maximum levels.

Chikkamagaluru district is also witnissing heavy rain, throwing life out of gear.

Kodagu district has been witnessing heavy rain since Thursday evening. Schools and colleges in the district were declared holiday on Friday as a precautionary measure. The road to Wayanad at Thamarassery Ghat has been closed following landslides. The vehicles bound to Wayanad via Gudalur are taking detour via Gonikoppal-Kutupula-Irratti. Sampaje experienced 115 mm of rain while Bhagamandala and Virajpet saw 100 mm of rain in the last 24 hours.

Over 11000 cusec of water was released downstream from Karanja dam in Bhalki taluk of Bidar district. The catchment of Karanja a tributary of Manjra has been experiencing heavy showers in the past few days.