Three bridges opened for traffic as flood recedes in Chikkodi

Rains receding in Maharashtra led to a dip in water inflow in River Krishna and its tributaries on Thursday. Three low-lying bridges in Chikkodi taluk of Belagavi district opened for road traffic. Two bridges in Raibag and three in Athani taluk are expected to open for traffic on Friday.

Water inflow from Maharashtra into River Krishna came down to 1.72 lakh cusecs on Thursday. Inflow from Rajapur barrage was 1.52 lakh and from River Doodhganga 20,064 cusecs. The Bhojwadi-Kunnar bridge across River Ved­ganga and the Karadga-Bhoj and Examba-Danwad bri­dges across River Doodhganga opened for road traffic. The dry spell in the district continued for the third consecutive day.

The inflow into the Hippargi reservoir has also come down. It was 2.21 lakh cusecs on Wednesday, but came down to 2.12 lakh cusecs on Thursday. With the decrease in water level, the Hirepadasalagi-Jamkhandi and Kankanawadi-Jamkhandi roads were open­ed f­or traffic. A pregnant woman and four others who fell ill after drinking polluted water were caught in flood-hit areas at Karakalagaddi and Myadaragaddi in Raichur district. The villagers blamed the district administration for not making any arrangements to rescue or provide treatment for them. In Raichur taluk, movement of vehicles has been banned on the Sheelahalli bridge which remains submerged.

The Tungabhadra dam near Hosapete in Ballari district received an inflow of two tmc feet on a single day. The water storage rose from 46.906 tmc feet on Wednesday to 48.143 tmc feet on Thursday.

However, the water level is 21 feet less than last year, causing concern among the farmers. The inflow of 41,064 cusecs on Wednesday and it fell to 22,052 cusecs on Thursday.

Intermittent rains lashed some parts of Shivamogga district. Thirthahalli and Sagar received intermittent showers. Shivamogga, Bhadravathi, Shikaripur and Sorab received moderate rains for a short period. The water level in Linganamakki dam rose to 1,788.05 feet against the maximum level of 1,819 feet. The inflow was 10,508 cusecs. The water level in Mani dam rose to 582.60 metres against the maximum level of 594.36 metres as the catchment area received a rainfall of 54 mm.  The inflow of water was 1,627 cusecs.