Maharashtra cloudburst sparks flood fears in Krishna basin

The swollen Tunga river sparks flood fears in Shivamogga. The district has been experiencing incessant rain for the past few days.

The cloudburst in the Konkan belt, coupled with heavy discharges from reservoirs in Maharashtra, has sparked flood fears in the Krishna basin districts of the state.

Krishna river and its tributaries - Vedganga, Doodhganga, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha, Hiranyakeshi and Markandeya - are flowing above the danger level in Belagavi district.

Inflow into Krishna river at Kallol barrage in Chikkodi taluk has reached 1.56 lakh cusec, and it is expected to go further up in the next few days.

The Sadalga-Borgaon and Kuduchi-Ugaar bridges have completely gone under floodwaters.

Many villages in Khanapur taluk have been cut off by unrelenting downpour and swollen rivers/rivulets.

Kanakumbi in Khanapur, where the Malaprabha river originates, has recorded a spine-chilling 52 cm (520 mm) of rain in the last 24 hours (ending 8 am on Friday), according to Belagavi sub-division assistant commissioner Ravindra Karalingannavar.

Also read: Over 100 dead in rain-related incidents in Maharashtra

NDRF personnel and the police evacuated more than 300 residents of the flooded areas in Sankeshwar and Nippani to shelters.

A stretch of the Pune-Bengaluru highway (NH-4) near Yamagarni in Nippani taluk has gone under the floodwaters of Vedganga. Eight people were rescued from a stranded car and a lorry. The stretch is closed for traffic.
An NDRF team rescued Adusiddeshwar Mutt seer and four others from the flooded mutt in Kundargi, Gokak taluk.

With Malaprabha and Ghataprabha dams clocking massive inflows, the authorities have sounded a flood warning to the downstream villages.
Unrelenting downpour has crippled normal life in Belagavi city and Khanapur town, where many areas have been inundated.

The Belagavi-Kolhapur highway has been closed for traffic at Hattargi toll.

Also read: Unprecedented rain triggers flash floods in Uttara Kannada

A massive 3 lakh cusec of water was discharged downstream Almatti as a precautionary measure on Friday. Also the same quantum of water was released from the parallel Basava Sagara (Narayanapura) dam in the evening. Acres of standing crops on either side of the river have gone under
water.

A flood alert has been issued to the villages on the banks of swollen Krishna river in Vijayapura, Yadgir and Raichur districts.

Meanwhile, incessant showers have filled most of the water bodies in Dharwad and Gadag districts.