E-Paper
Heavy rains batter Karnataka; traffic disrupted, houses and schools submerged
Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Belagavi districts have been among the worst affected by the heavy rains in the state.
The ongoing heavy to very heavy rains in Karnataka have lashed as many as 13 districts in the state, disrupting transport services, including road and rail traffic, and caused floods in 22 rivers. A report published in Prajavani on Friday said that the Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Belagavi districts have been among the worst affected. Due to the opening of many reservoirs following heavy rains in the Marathwada region, rivers in northern Karnataka have experienced heavy flooding. This has caused interruption of railway, road and air travel.
The adverse effect of heavy rains has been seen far and wide in the state. Due to heavy rains, two schools in Joida and Mundgod taluk in Uttara Kannada district have collapsed. Schools in Dharwad taluk, including three government schools, have partially collapsed in rural areas.
In addition, heavy rains in Chikodi and Nipani taluk of Belagavi have caused heavy flooding in the Krishna River and its tributaries. Rajapura barrage of Maharashtra is releasing 58,000 cusecs of water per day into the river following heavy inflow from the ghat areas. The Doodh Ganga River is also in spate and releasing 19,000 cusecs in the river into the lower riparian course.
As a consequence of heavy inflow in the rivers, six bridges have been submerged in the Krishna River. Pandora, Kaneri, Kali rivers are under heavy flooding and 120 villages in four districts are inundated.
Remarkably, the Kali River has also experienced heavy inflow. This is the first time in the last few years that the river has released 40,000 cusecs into its course. Besides, the Gangavali River is also in spate and creating a flood situation in low lying areas in Ankola taluk. A transport link has been severed between Yellapur and Ankola consequently.
The Indian Railways has not been spared either by the effect of incessant and heavy rainfall. The Konkan Railway that connects Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka has cancelled many trains. According to a Konkan Railway communique, several trains going north have been suspended or rescheduled due to a heavy influx of water, on the Chiplun river railway bridge.
