The South West monsoon continues to lash many parts of the Malnad region, leaving reservoirs full, streams in spate and affecting normal life. The water level in Hemavati Reservoir at Goruru reached its peak, forcing the dam authorities to open six crest gates to release water to the river.
The reservoir with a gross storage capacity of 37 TMC is full. People residing downstream of the reservoir were asked to shift to safer place earlier. The officers opened the crest gates on Sunday afternoon to release 29,000 cusecs of water. Many local people rushed to the dam to witness the opening of the crest gates. As Hemavati water is being released to the river, the inflow at KRS will go up.
There are reports of landslides in Agumbe ghat, Shiradi Ghat and vehicle traffic was affected in Charmadi Ghat too as a tree fell on the road. A landslide has occurred near Donigal on the Shiradi Ghat stretch of NH-75, leaving the regular commuters on the stretch worried. In the previous years, the vehicle traffic on the stretch was stopped for several months due to landslides.
A wall of a rice mill at Kargal near Sagar collapsed. Many bags of paddy were inundated causing a huge loss to the owner. Farmers of Adagalale village in Sankanna Shanbogh gram panchayat of Sagar taluk are worried as vast tracts of agricultural lands are flooded following a landslide. Areca plantations and paddy fields are badly hit.
Chikkamagaluru district administration has declared extended holiday for schools in Chikkamagaluru, Kalasa, Sringeri, Mudigere, Koppa and N.R. Pura taluks for next two days as it has been raining heavily in these parts of the district.
