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Karnataka: Rain, flooding spark fears of August devastation repeat

MYSURU/SHIVAMOGGA: Major rivers, including the Krishna, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha and Tungabhadra, were in spate on Monday after torrential rain lashed North Karnataka and Malnad for two straight days.

People in Belagavi, Bagalkot and Vijayapura districts were worried about a repeat of August’s devastating floods after Maharashtra discharged large quantities of water from its reservoirs across the Krishna.



“The Krishna is now receiving 1.4 lakh cusecs of water from Maharashtra,” Belagavi deputy commissioner SB Bommanahalli said.

The overflowing rivers and streams hampered vehicular movement in many places and flooded several fields with standing crops. The Belagavi-Savadatti, Belagavi- Ramudurga, Hubballi-Vijayapura, Hubballi-Gadag and Dharwad-Savadatti roads were blocked due to rain. Several villages were cut off from the outside world after bridges submerged and roads developed cracks.

Standing kharif crops on lakhs of acres in the Mumbai-Karnataka region, which was to be harvested, were damaged. In Davanagere , paddy crop was wiped out on 10,000 hectares.

Farmers were in a state of panic after the Doni, a tributary of the Krishna, overflowed near Sarawad village in Vijayapura district on Monday.

IMD declared a red alert in coastal Karnataka, forecasting 24cm of rainfall in the region daily over the next five days. Officials sounded an orange alert in north and south interior Karnataka, forecasting 12cm of daily rainfall in these regions. IMD officials said the excessive rainfall was caused by low pressure formations, incoming winds and the orographic effect (a change in atmospheric conditions caused by a change in elevation) in the Western Ghats.

Police identify victims

Police said five people died in rail-related accidents across the state on Monday.

They said Liaquat Makandar, 55, of Kusamalagi village in Belgaum district, died when his house collapsed late Sunday night. Santosh Devegouda, 16, was washed away in the Krishna at Chinchodi village in Raichur district on Monday. Hanumappa Nandyal, 65, of Teggihal village in Koppal, was washed away in a stream. In Haveri, Shoeb, 14, was washed away while crossing an overflowing canal in Hirekerur. Basavakumar Hattimattur (age not specified by police) died when he was swept away in a flooded stream on Sunday night.

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