Heavy rains pummel Bidar, Kalaburagi dists, normal life affected

Heavy rain continued to pummel Bidar and parts of Kalaburagi districts through the day on Thursday, flooding crops on thousands of acres in the region.

Six road bridges in the rain-battered Bidar district have gone under the overflowing Manjra river and streams. Bhalki, Aurad and Basavakalyan taluks are the worst-hit.

The swollen Manjra river has meandered its way through to the farmland and villages located on its floodplains.

With Godavari river catchment areas receiving incessant showers, inflow into Karanja reservoir near Byalahalli in Bhalki taluk has increased drastically. The reservoir has received more than one-and-a-half tmcft of water in the last three to four days. Bridges at Belakuni and Daadgi in Kamalnagar taluk and Bagadal in Bidar taluk have been
submerged.

Relentless showers have brought life to a standstill in Bidar city on Thursday. The showers left the low-lying areas in the old city, CMC Colony, Vidyanagar, Lumbininagar, Rotary Circle waterlogged. Many parts of the city plunged into darkness after the skies opened up on Wednesday evening.

Heavy rain lashed Kalaburagi city in spells through the day on Thursday. However, the showers stayed away during an event to mark Kalyana Karnataka Utsav (HK Liberation Day), attended by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.

The Belakota reservoir (Gandori Nala) in Kamalapur taluk of Kalaburagi district has reached its full reservoir level (1,467.50 feet).

Several bridges in Sedam, Kalagi and Chittapur taluks, including the one between Chincholi and Bidar on state highway 15, went under the overflowing Kagina river, bringing the traffic in the region to a standstill.

Chincholi received a record 18 cm of rain in the 24 hours (ending 8 am on Thursday). Bidar city recorded 12.1 cm while Basava Kalyan registered 7.4 cm of rain.

Women stranded

A woman and her daughter were forced to take shelter on the rooftop of their farmhouse following a flash flood at Rachappa Goudgaon in Bidar district. They spent five hours on the rooftop waiting for help. After the floodwater in the stream subsided, the police, joined by firemen, rescued the
women.

Meanwhile, Hosapete taluk, including the Unesco world heritage site Hampi, continued to receive sporadic spells of heavy rain.

Several Mumbai-Karnataka districts, including Bagalkot, Vijayapura and Belagavi, experienced good rainfall on Thursday.
Agasthya Thirtha pond in Badami is full to the brim.