Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Benglauru, Jul 24: Karnataka is in the grip of intensified monsoon. For the last ten days, various parts of the state have been receiving torrential rainfall, throwing life in malnad, coast and north Karnataka out of gear. Rivers have flooded and the people are worried.
Most of the dams are full and excess water is released into the rivers, which poses danger for the people living near the catchment area. Houses have collapsed and some bridges have gone under water. Crops have been destroyed and roads have been inundated. Vehicular traffic has been hit as roads have suffered landslides and potholes.
File Photo
Three persons have died due to heavy rains during the last 24 hours. About 9,000 people have been shifted to safer places. The meteorological department has predicted seven districts, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, Chkkamagaluru and Kodagu districts to face intensified rain fury during the next one day. Red alert has been sounded in seven districts while orange alert has been issued for Belagavi and Dharwad districts. As many as 80 rescue teams which have been deployed have been helping the needy,
Train services have been disrupted on account of landslides, and several trains have been cancelled. Trains passing through Sonalium Kukem and Dudhsagar Karanjal in Goa have been cancelled.
Rivers like Krishna, Cauvery, Tungabhadra, Bhima, Kapila and several othes are overflowing. As many as 131 villages,18 taluks and over 16,000 people are facing danger from floods.
Relief operations have been expedited as the heavy rains have affected 16,213 people badly, of which 8,733 have been evacuated from 131 villages so far in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Belagavi, Haveri, Dharwad, Shivamogga and Chikkamagluru.
Of the 8,733 evacuated persons, 4,964 have been accommodated in various relief camps set up by the district administrations.
According to data availed from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), almost 65 bridges in the low-lying areas have submerged in the Krishna river basin area while more than 10 schools have partially collapsed due to the torrential rains, including seven in Uttar Kannada district.
The incessant downpour has also resulted in heavy release of water from all the 13 prominent reservoirs across the state at 1.74 lac cusec, while inflow of water in these reservoirs stood at 4.82 lac cusec.
The water release data obtained from the irrigation department reveal that of the 1.74 lac cusec total release of water from the reservoirs, 1.44 lac cusec was released from the reservoirs in the Krishna river basin alone, while the total inflow of water in this basin stood at 2.53 lac cusec, compared to 4.82 lac cusec in all the 13 reservoirs.
The Kali river has also experienced heavy inflow. For the first time in the last few years, the river has released 40,000 cusec into its course.
Besides, the Gangavali river is also in spate, creating flood-like situations in the low lying areas in the Ankola taluk. As a result, a transport link has been severed between Yellapur and Ankola.
Due to landslides in Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Kodagu, vehicular movement has been badly affected. The South Western Railway was also forced to cancel trains due to heavy downpour.
Because of bad weather, the airporst in Hubli and Belagavi were forced to cancel most of their scheduled departures while a few flights were re-routed to Bengaluru, a senior official said.
On Friday, chief minister, B S Yediyurappa, reviewed the situation connected with rain. He also consulted the deputy commissioners about the rain havoc and measures taken in individual districts. He promised to help farmers who are facing losses due to rain. He has asked the legislators and district in-charge ministers to take responsibility their respectie districts and constituencies at this hour of crisis.
The DCs have been directed to set up relief centres with all the necessary infrastructure and provide medical facilities to the people.
With IANS inputs