HASSAN: With heavy rainfall in the catchment area of the Hemavathy reservoir, officials of the Irrigation Department are letting 48,400 cusecs of water from the reservoir to the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) reservoir, anticipating a heavy inflow. The inflow into the Hemavathy reservoir increased to 48,000 cusecs on Monday.

According to officials of the Hemavathy dam division, apart from the 48,400 cusecs being released to the KRS, 200 cusecs is being released into the Hemavathy Right Bank High-Level Canal and 750 cusecs into the Hemavathy Left Bank Canal. The authorities are also planning to release water into the Hemavathy Right Bank Canal, the officials said.

The water-level in the Hemavathy reservoir stood at 2,920.11 ft on Monday morning as against 2,899.70 ft during the corresponding period last year. The storage is 35.37 tmcft. The water-level in the Yagachi reservoir touched 964.05 ft, on Monday morning as against the full reservoir level of 964.05 ft. The water-level during the corresponding period last year was 959.30 ft. The storage is 3.21 tmcft as against last year's 1.40 tmcft.

The district has been receiving continuous rainfall. Officials of the Hemavathy dam division said that such a huge quantity of water is being let into the KRS for the first time in 13 years.

Braving the rain, people are thronging Gorur to see the water being released from the Hemavathy reservoir through the six crest gates. Tourists from various parts of the State are also visiting the Holy Rosary Church at Shettihalli, which gets submerged in the waters of the reservoir in the monsoon. Only the tip of the spire is visible now.

The district in-charge and Public Works Minister, H.D. Revanna, visited the Hemavathy reservoir on Monday along with H.S. Prakash, MLA; the Deputy Commissioner, K.H. Ashwathanarayana Gowda; the Superintendent of Police, Panduranga H. Rane; and the Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat, F.R. Jamaadar, and performed puja.

Mr. Revanna told presspersons that he has directed the Irrigation Department authorities to release 2,000 and 3,200 cusecs of water to Tumkur and Mandya districts respectively.

In view of torrential rainfall causing problems for farmers who have planted potato on 38,500 hectares in the district, Mr. Revanna has arranged a meeting of their representatives with the Ministers for Agriculture and Horticulture in Bangalore. A meeting with the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, will also be arranged, he said.

He regretted that farmers are not in a position to benefit from the good rainfall this year because of the delay in completing some lift irrigation schemes. He instructed the Chief Engineer, Nanjappa, to complete the work on the first and second phases of the Kamasamudra, Huchchanakopplu and Halli Mysore lift irrigation schemes by August 12 before water is released on August 15.

Flood threat in 14 villages

The Superintendent of Police said 14 villages, which face a threat of flooding because of the release of water into the river, have been informed of the possible danger. Arrangements have been made to evacuate them if necessary, he added.

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