Flood situation worsens as outflow from dams increases

The flood situation seems to be worsening at many places due to heavy discharges from major reservoirs in the state.

A total of 1.22 lakh cusecs of water was released to Krishna river basin from the Lalbahadur Shastri Sagar dam at Almatti in Vijayapura district on Tuesday, following incessant rain in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. This is the first time this year that the outflow has reached the 1 lakh cusecs mark. The reservoir is almost full, with 24 of the 26 gates being opened to let out the water. A total of 77,060 cusecs was released through the gates and 45,000 cusecs through the power generating station of the KPCL, said sources.

The water from Almatti reaches Narayanpur dam downstream and the latter is expected to reach the maximum level on Wednesday. Thereafter, Andhra Pradesh will get copious flow of water.

The inflow to the reservoir, which was 1,41,296 cusecs on Tuesday, increased to 1.48 lakh cusecs by evening. The dam received 12 tmc ft of water on a single day on Tuesday.

While the maximum level of the dam is 519. 6 metres, the level stood at 518.75 metres. The storage in the reservoir stood at 107.72 tmc ft against the capacity of 123.081 tmc ft. The water level last year was 513.05 tmc ft.

The inflow to the upstream Rajapur barrage stood at 1,19,232 cusecs on Tuesday. The inflow to the Almatti dam is likely to be 1.5 lakh cusecs over the next couple of days. The Kuduchi bridge in Raibag taluk connecting Maharashtra has started submerging. Water has begun to flow on the bridge, halting movement of vehicles. The respective district administrations have banned visitors to Hogenakkal Falls (on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border), Krishnaraja Sagar dam, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary and Wellesley bridge in Srirangapatna, Mandya district.

The people are stopped near Pennagaram, at a distance of 16 km from Hogenakkal Falls, situated on the border of Tamil Nadu. The water level in the falls is above the danger mark as around 1.5 lakh cusec of water is being released from KRS and Kabini dams to the river. Entry of visitors is restricted as a precautionary measure. Dharmapuri Deputy Commissioner Malarvizhi told DH that visitors would not be allowed till the water level subsides. Vehicular movement and people are restricted on Sopanakatte bridge and Wellesley bridge in Srirangapatna from Tuesday morning. Police have erected barricades to prevent people from entering the bridges. As vehicular traffic on the old bridges has been banned, traffic density on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway has increased. People were stopping their vehicles and watching the river on the new bridge. Showers were reported from Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts too.

Heavy rain that lashed Kodagu district for the last few days receded on Tuesday. Bhagamandala, Napoklu, Talacauvery, Ayyangeri, Kottamudi and Moornadu continued to receive good showers.

Cauvery and Lakshmanateertha rivers were in spate, following heavy rain on Monday night. Traffic movement was obstructed on the Madikeri-Mangaluru Road (NH 275), following the caving in of a hillock. Holiday was declared for schools as a precautionary measure. Intermittent rain lashed Dakshina Kannada district on Tuesday. Sea erosion intensified at several places.