The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : No respite from rain fury; life affected

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

No respite from rain fury; life affected

Karnataka Bureau

Reservoirs in State fast filling up; fear of floods haunts people living on the banks of Krishna

Quite an effort: People wade through knee-deep water at Mandagadde on the Shimoga-Tirthahalli Road on Monday.

Bangalore: Normal life continued to be affected in many parts of the State following incessant rain.

The water-levels in many reservoirs have seen a sharp rise following good inflow, and many rivers are in spate, triggering fears of floods.

Minister for Major and Medium Irrigation Basavaraj Bommai said that a red alert had been sounded in the villages on the banks of Krishna in Belgaum district and all steps have been taken to prevent loss of life and damage to property.

Situation grim

After inspecting the water-levels at Narayanpur Dam in Surpur taluk in Gulbarga district, Mr. Bommai told presspersons at the dam site that the situation was grim in the villages on the banks of the river in Belgaum.

Reports had it that flood waters had already entered six villages in Belgaum district.

He said that Regional Commissioner Amitav Prasad had been directed to keep a close watch on the situation and conduct an hourly review of the situation.

Mr. Bommai said the situation had worsened in Krishna River after Maharashtra released 2.25 lakh cusecs of water from Koyna and Ved Ganga dams. State officials were in constant touch with their Maharashtra counterparts.

He said that villages downstream of the Alamatti Balancing Reservoir and the Narayanpur Dam had been alerted.

The Narayanpur Dam was full.

The Minister said that the Maharashtra Government, unlike in the past, had been keeping the State posted about the release of water from their dams into the river.

The Maharashtra authorities had also been asked to provide information about the release of water from Ujjini Dam across the Bhima.

As a precautionary measure, flood warning had been issued in villages on the banks of the Bhima in Gulbarga and Bijapur districts. In Belgaum district, the Government had stocked foodgrains and other materials at relief centres in the villages which are likely to be affected by floods.

No let-up

Rains continued to lash Kodagu district, triggering fears among people in vulnerable areas about landslides and tree-fall.

Bhagamandala remained cut off from rest of the district for the second consecutive day on Monday, as Cauvery waters submerged the Bhagamandala-Madikeri road and Bhagamandala-Aiyyangeri road.

There were reports of Lakshmanatirtha being in spate. A large extent of paddy fields is under water in Virajpet taluk. Kadnur river is also in spate near Virajpet town.

Talacauvery received the highest of 186.2 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Thick fog covered Madikeri and surrounding areas almost throughout the day.

The number of tourists to Madikeri has come down greatly. Electricity supply was restored in Madikeri and nearby areas on Monday afternoon, more than 30 hours after it was disrupted. The district administration is keeping a close watch in Karadigodu, near Siddapura, where about 18 houses face the risk of submergence.

Almost all tributaries of the Cauvery, rivulets and streams are overflowing in the district following copious rains in the last four days. Paddy transplantation is going on briskly in the district, thanks to the good rainfall.

A good part of the targeted 36,000 hectares of paddy in the district has been covered. Bhagamandala received 160 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours, followed by Srimangala (83.2) Napoklu (86.8), Madikeri city (67.8), Virajpet (60.4), Somwarpet (56), Ponnampet (42) and Gonicoppa (40).

The level in the Harangi reservoir on Monday stood at 2,858.15 ft against the maximum level of 2,859 ft.

Inflow increased to 13,283 cusecs following good rain in Harangi and surrounding areas.

Outflow into the river was measured at over 11,000 cusecs.

Inundated

Normal life in many parts of Shimoga district has been severely affected. Low-lying areas were inundated.

Vehicular traffic in many parts was either suspended or diverted following the submergence of roads.

People living in the low-lying areas have been asked to move to safe places in view of the fear of flash floods as the level of the Tunga River is rising.

According to reports, power generation at the Mahatma Gandhi Power Station at Jog was stopped as a precautionary measure on Monday following the collapse of a mound, blocking the water flow in the canal to the generating station.

Agumbe in Tirthahalli taluk received 243 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours.

The level of the reservoirs has been rising rapidly.

Crest gates opened

The inflow into the Hemavathy Reservoir in Hassan district was 45,000 cusecs, and the water-level at 5 p.m. on Monday was 2,917.89 ft against the full level of 2,922 ft.

Executive Engineer, Gorur Dam division, Srirangaraju said that six crest gates had been opened to a height of four feet and 15,000 cusecs water released into the river.

Families shifted

Fear of floods in Krishna River haunt people in villages after Maharashtra started releasing water from Koyna Dam into the river. The Belgaum district administration shifted 67 families to safe places on Monday.

Twelve roads and bridges have been submerged in different parts of the district.

The office of the Chief Engineer of the Karnataka Neeravari Nigam has sounded a red alert in low-lying villages on the banks of Ghataprabha following copious inflow into Hidkal Dam and increase in the outflow.

Rivers in spate

There has been widespread rain in Chikmagalur district during the past three days. Kerekatte in Sringeri taluk received 294.6 mm rain during this period, followed by Kottegahara in Mudigere taluk (279 mm) and Hariharapura in Koppa taluk (206 mm).

Kadur and Tarikere taluks in the plains also received moderate rainfall. Rivers in the Malnad region, including Tunga, Bhadra and Hemavathy, are in spate.

KRS water-level

The water-level in the Krishna Raja Sagar Reservoir is just six feet short of attaining the maximum level following incessant rains in Bhagamandala-Talacauvery region.The inflow was over 24,000 cusecs, according to KRS Dam Executive Engineer Vijay Kumar.

The water-level on Monday touched 118.80 ft against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 124.80 ft. The outflow was 4,686 cusecs. Water is being released into the canals for irrigation.

The authorities at the Kabini Dam site in Mysore district have issued a flood warning and flashed messages to the tahsildars of H.D. Kote, Kollegal, T. Narsipur and Nanjangud to shift those living on the banks of Kapila River to safe places in view of heavy discharge from the dam.

Kabini Dam Assistant Executive Engineer Narayan told The Hindu that the inflow into the dam had gone up substantially after a brief lull. With monsoon gaining momentum in the Wayanad region of Kerala, the inflow has been 27,380 cusecs since Monday morning.

The bridge across the river downstream has been submerged, affecting vehicular movement between H.D. Kote and Begur. Commuters are travelling to Begur through Sargur. The water-level on Monday was 2283.20 ft against the maximum of 2,284 ft.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka