Spectre of flood looms large over Karnataka

The spectre of floods loomed large over several parts of Karnataka with the rivers flowing in spate in the wake of heavy rains and discharge of excess water from upstream reservoirs.

Several parts of Belgaum and Gulbarga district in north Karnataka faced the threat of imminent floods for the third year in succession as the water level in river Krishna was rising steadily on account of heavy rains and release of excess water from the reservoirs of Maharashtra.

The swirling waters of river Krishna and had already submerged several bridges and roads across Belgaum and Gulbarga. Similiarly, the swollen river Bhima posed a threat to residents of Gulbarga district.

The irrigation department authorities in Karnataka have been forced to release a large volume of water from its Narayanpur and Alamatti dams, which were fast reaching its full reservoir levels, worsening the situation.

The authorities have warned people living in villages along the rivers of Krishna and Bhima in Belgaum and Gulbarga to move to safer places along with their livestock.

The high-level Cabinet sub-committee on natural calamities, which met in Bangalore on Monday, has decided to dispatch Karnataka Chief Secretary P B Mahishi and other senior officials of Revenue Department to Mumbai to seek advance information from Maharashtra on the release of water from its reservoirs.

A large quantity of water had been released into Krishna river from the Rajapur dam and barrage across Panchaganga in Maharashtra during the last few days.

In other parts of the state, the river Tunga flowed just three feet below danger mark, threatening to flood low lying areas across Shimoga district, while the water from river Hemavathi submerged several areas in Hassan district.

Heavy rainfall continued to lash Kodagu district, which is the catchment area for river Cauvery. The swelling of Cauvery river led to submergence of several bridges in Kodagu and disrupted movement of traffic on many roads.

While one person was killed in Kodlipet in Kodagu district when the wall of his shed came crashing down on him in the rains, more than a thousand houses has collapsed in different parts of the state in the rains.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who estimated the loss to the state on account of the rains to be around Rs 1.5 billion, will shortly lead a delegation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking release of Federal funds to take up relief works.