Rains recede, but flood woes aggravate in North Karnataka districts

Floods have returned to haunt the North Karnataka districts this year. Most of the rivers in the region are in spate following unrelenting rains over the past weeks. Release of huge quantity of water from brimming dams has added to the woes.

The inflow into Tungabhadra dam near Hosapete in Vijayanagara district stood at 1.36 lakh cusec and as much as 1.58 lakh cusec of water was being released from the reservoir on Tuesday. The dam had water up to 1,623 feet as against the full reservoir level of 1,633 feet.

Several monuments in the Unesco heritage site of Hampi are under water due to heavy discharge from Tungabhadra dam. Police have been deployed on the banks of the river.

The Kampli-Gangavathi bridge is on the verge of being submerged in flood waters. The movement of vehicles on the bridge has been banned from Monday itself. Banana, sugarcane, paddy farms in Kampli have been flooded. The houses in fishermen colony were inundated.

Three bridges in Vijayanagara and Ballari districts are under water affecting movement of vehicles.

While rains subsided in Belagavi district, River Krishna and its tributaries continued to be swollen on Tuesday. ‘Kalaji’ centres have been opened at various locations in the district. Crops on whopping 93,000 hectares are estimated to have been damaged in Gadag due to excess rains.

Though rains receded in Kodagu on Tuesday, the district reported rain-related damages. A hill on Madikeri-Mangaluru road has developed a huge crack.

In Mysuru district, River Kapila is in spate in Nanjangud, with more than 43,000 cusec of water being released from Kabini dam.

The bathing ghat of Srikanteshwara Swami temple in Nanjangud has been submerged. Barricades have been erected near the bathing ghat and Police personnel have been deployed.