Swollen Bhima unleashes misery in Kalaburagi, Vijayapura

Although rain intensity has come down in Kalyan Karnataka and the undivided Vijayapura and Belagavi districts, the flood situation remained grim in the region.

The Bhima river, bolstered by heavy discharge of water from dams/barrages in its basin, is unleashing its destructive force in Kalaburagi district.

Heavy discharge of water from Veer and Ujani dams in Maharashtra and Sonna barrage in Afzalpur has triggered flood threat in over 100 villages in Chittapur, Afzalpur, Jewargi and Shahabad taluks.

An unprecedented 6.30 lakh cusecs of water was released into Bhima river from Sonna barrage. The swollen Bhima has damaged houses, road infrastructure and power lines in Kalaburagi, Vijayapura and Yadgir districts.

Most of the villages and towns, including the industrial town Wadi, have plunged into darkness for the past three days following the heavy showers which brought down power lines in the region.

The Buddhist sites Sannati and Kanaganahalli, and Chandrala Parameshwari temple in Chittapur taluk have gone under Bhima waters.

The road connectivity between Kalaburagi-Sedam, Chincholi-Bidar and Sedam-Chittapur has been cut off.

The state government has dispatched two helicopters to manage the flood situation in Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Raichur districts.

Meanwhile, Krishna river near Raichur is surging at a drastic pace following the heavy discharge of water from Narayanapur reservoir (1.79 lakh cusecs) and Sonna barrage (3.05 lakh cusecs). The swollen Krishna has submerged the island-villages in Lingasugur taluk. The residents of Gurjapur village have been evacuated to safety. Acres of ready-for-harvest paddy in Lingasugur and Raichur taluks have gone under water.

With Bhima river flowing above danger mark, the vehicular movement on the busy Vijayapura-Solapur national highway has been stopped.

The firemen and local fishermen rescued a family of seven, including five children, from an island in Doni river near Talikoti. A woman and her son were rescued from the flooded Hale Hingani village on Bhima banks in Indi
taluk.

Muttur and Tubachi villages in Jamkhandi taluk have turned into islands following a discharge of 1.5 lakh cusecs from Hippargi reservoir.
The low-lying bridges across Ghataprabha at Dhavaleshwar, Nandagaon and Mirji have gone under water.

The situation is no different in Chikkodi and Nippani taluks of Belagavi district, where scores of villages on Krishna river banks are facing flood threat.