Flood situation in Krishna basin remains grave

Relentless showers in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra and heavy discharge from the reservoirs there have worsened the flood situation in Krishna basin districts.

In the last 24 hours, a huge volume of water was released to Krishna from Koyna and Rajapur barrage. Inflow into the river, the lifeline of Maharashtra, Karnataka and undivided Andhra Pradesh, at Kallol near Chikkodi was 2,64,380 cusec.

With the width of the river having increased by 300 metres, many villages in Chikkodi taluk, including Chandoor, Kallol, Manjari, Examba, Ankali, Mallikwad, are reeling under severe floods. Floodwater gushing into farmlands and houses has put the people to untold hardships.

More than two dozen bridges across Krishna and its tributaries in Chikkodi and Nippani taluks are still underwater.

A farmer from Hulagabali in Athani taluk was washed away in Krishna while trying to save his cattle from drowning. The deceased has been identified as Maruthi Jadhav (38).

The situation is no different in Jamkhandi taluk of Bagalkot, where Krishna, its tributaries Malaprabha and Ghataprabha are flowing above the danger mark.
Road connectivity has been badly hit as several bridges in the taluk have been submerged. Vehicular traffic on Vijayapura-Dharwad state highway has been banned since Sunday night.

Gruel centres have been opened at Hirepadasalgi, Mutturu and Alaguru for the affected. Five families and their cattle near Alaguru have been moved to safety.

The villages and towns downstream Krishna in Vijayapura, Raichur and Yadgir have been hit badly after a record 3.03 lakh cusec was discharged from Almatti on Monday. The outflow was highest since 2008, then 3.45 lakh cusec was released.

Many villages on the banks of Krishna in Nidagundi and Mudebihal taluks have been marooned. Standing sugarcane and tur crops on over 150 acres in Nidagundi villages were damaged following the flash floods on Monday.

The flood situation in Lingasugur, Devadurg and Raichur taluks has turned precarious after 2.91 lakh cusec was released downstream Krishna from Basava Sagara (Narayanpur) reservoir. With Sheelahalli bridge still underwater, Jaladurga, Yelagundi, Hanchinal, Yeragodi and Kadadaragaddi in Lingasugur taluk have remained cut off from the mainland.d for the past one week.

The story is no different in Devadurga taluk, where several fishermen families at Yatgal and Googal have been shifted to safety.

The busy Hoovinahedgi bridge on Raichur-Kalaburagi route is still underwater. With the bridge having closed for traffic, commuters are forced to take a detour for 70 km to traverse a distance of 30 to 35 km from Devadurga to Shahpur.

MLAs of respective constituencies, along with the officials, on Monday took stock of the affected places.

The situation in the basin districts is expected to continue for the next few days as the showers in Maharashtra are in no mood to relent.