K'taka floods: Villagers in foothills of ghats in fear

Residents of Charmady and surrounding villages in Dakshina Kannada district, living right at the foot of Western Ghats, are not averse to heavy rainfall as annual rainfall surpasses 3,000 mm in the region. But the deluge experienced during the last week, according to locals, is unprecedented.

For the very first time in recent memory, residents of Kolambe, in Charmady village had to evacuate their homes after trees which were uprooted by landslides in the hills entered Mrityunjaya river and blocked the flow of water in it.

Before the water washed off the bridge connecting Kolambe to Charmady, the water diverted by the choked bridge entered around 50 homes located about half a kilometre from the rivulet, said Pradeep Shetty, one of the volunteers who assisted the affected.

Narayana Kolamba, among the residents whose house was flooded by the continuous downpour, said that many houses were damaged and slush has filled the houses. "We have never experienced such a situation before," he said, adding that irrespective of the amount of rainfall they hadn't suffered any problems.

Apart from Charmady, several villages in the foothills of the ghats such as Kajoor and Killur are facing the same problem.

For Charmady Hasanabba, the writing was on the wall as torrential downpour has started causing minor landslides in the ghats since Tuesday. Four days ago, he was saved by a whisker as a tree came crashing down on his car when he was coordinating attempts to clear a section of the ghat.

"It was a narrow escape. He has been clearing the ghats and assisting people who were affected by accidents in these winding roads for more than 30 years now. However, the situation this year he says has never been witnessed before," Badruddin Azman, one of his sons' said.

The situation would worsen as heavy rainfall was forecast for the region till August 12, he added.

Despite the downpour, efforts are now on local residents along with authorities to clear Charmady ghat which is closed till August 15. As many as eight earth-movers are on the job, according to locals.