Reservoirs filling up fast amid relentless rainfall

The Mundgod-Yellapur road in Uttara Kannada district is under water. DH Photo/Sadashiva M S

Water gushes out from Kadra reservoir in Karwar taluk. 

With the catchment areas in Konkan belt of Maharashtra and Malnad receiving bountiful rain most of the major reservoirs in the state continued to see a rapid increase in water level.

All major rivers in Krishna basin districts and Malnad region are in spate. A few of them have reached danger levels, triggering a flood threat to the villages and towns on their banks.

Inflow into Krishna river at Kallol barrage in Chikkodi taluk, Belagavi district, clocked 1.15 lakh cusecs on Saturday.. Water level in Ghataprabha reservoir has increased by 10 feet in the last 24 hours.

As much as 10.18 tmcft of water flowed into Almatti dam, the lifeline of undivided Vijayapura, Yadgir and Raichur districts in the state, on Saturday - the highest in a single day, this year. The water level in the dam touched 512.17 metres on Saturday evening, just seven metres short of its full capacity.

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With Krishna river and its tributaries flowing at ferocious speed, all nine low-lying bridge-cum-barrages have gone under water. Vast tracts of agriculture land in basin districts have gone under water.

1 rescued, 2 dead

The NDRF team, which is camping at Yadur in Chikkodi taluk, rescued a youth who managed to stay afloat in overflowing Vedganga in Nippani taluk.

One fisherman each were swept away by strong currents of Markandeya river in Kakati, Belagavi, and in Krishna river near Vadagera, Yadgir district.

Kadra dam in Uttara Kannada reached its full reservoir level on Saturday. The authorities released 5,500 cusecs of water downstream Kali by lifting three crest gates.

Unrelenting showers have wreaked havoc in Malnad areas of the district. The overflowing streams have cut off the road connectivity to Tibetan camp in Mundgod. Acres of paddy and maize crop in the district have been submerged.

Meanwhile, Tunga, Bhadra and Linganamakki resevoirs in Shivamogga continued to receive good inflows. Water level in Bhadra has gone up by two feet in just 24 hours while 29,000 cusecs of water flowed into Linganamakki.

With Wayanad region in Kerala experiencing heavy showers, Kabani reservoir in HD Kote taluk, Mysuru district, is seeing good inflow. On Saturday. 5,000 cusec was let into downstream Kabini. The inflow into the dam is expected to go further up in the next few hours., Suresh Babu, executive engineer, Kabini dam, told DH.

More rain forecast

The coastal districts and Malnad will likely to receive heavy showers, accompanied by thunder and lightning, till Monday (June 21), according to the India Meteorological Department.

The weather department has issued yellow alert to Belagavi, Dharwad and Haveri districts, which are expected to see intermittent spells of moderate to heavy rain till Monday.