Rain recedes in NK, but fear of flooding persists

Hubballi: Though the rain receded in many districts of North Karnataka on Saturday, fear of flooding loomed large in villages in the catchment areas of reservoirs and river banks .

Rain lashed some districts in the region intermittently, and cloudy weather prevailed in the morning, but the weather cleared up by afternoon.

Residents of villages and towns on the Krishna river basin heaved a sigh of relief as the outflow at Lal Bahadur Shastri Dam in Almatti was reduced to 2.2 lakh cusecs while inflow was trimmed to 1.4 lakh cusecs. Following the reduction, the water level was at 490.8m at Narayanpur Dam, which reduced the possibility of flooding.

However, incessant rain in Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru has increased the inflow of water to over 1 lakh cusecs at the Tungabhadra dam in Hosapete, where the water level has increased by 3.1ft in 24 hours. Sources in the Tungabhadra reservoir said that the dam is receiving an average 2 TMC of water per day from the last 3 days and 8,629 cusec of water is being released into canals. Revenue officials in Huvina Hadagali and Hagari Bommanahalli taluks have sought cooperation from people to shift if needed. Alerts have been issued at the world heritage sites of Hampi, Kampli and Siruguppa.

The premises of the Kundagol tahsildar’s office got flooded due to heavy rain that lashed the taluk for four days, in the absence of a proper drainage system.

Residents are facing difficulties in entering the office due to waterlogging. The people have urged the district administration to solve the waterlogging issue. In the past, the issue was brought to the notice of higher authorities, but it has not been resolved, said Kundagol residents.