Continuing rainfall in the Tungabhadra catchment areas and the resultant discharge of over 1.64 cusecs of water from the Tungabhadra reservoir continued to flood many monuments at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi in Vijayanagara district on Wednesday.
Purandara Mantapa, the bathing spot Chakrateertha, and the canal of the Vijayanagara empire were completely submerged in the floodwaters.
The premises of Rama Laxmana Temple, the Chandramouleshwar Temple, the 64-pillar Mantapa (the burial site of Vijayanagara emperor Krishnadevaraya) and Nava Brindavan, the burial site of Madhwa saints, were among the monuments that were heavily flooded.
The historical Venkataramana Temple, the Gangammana Katte, and the fort at Kampli in Ballari district have also been flooded.
As per the information provided by the Tungabhadra dam authorities at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, the reservoir level was 1,631.62 feet, holding 100.289 tmcft of water against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 1,633 feet that could hold 105.788 tmcft.
The dam was receiving 1.6 lakh cusecs of water and the authorities maintained the discharge of 1.81 lakh cusecs, including 10,638 cusecs to different canals.
As much as 1.7 lakh cusecs of water were being released to the river through the spillway by lifting all the 33 crest gates – 28 gates by 4 feet and 5 by 1 foot.
The dam authorities cautioned the Ballari, the Vijayanagara, the Koppal, and the Raichur district administrations and the Kurnool district collector in Andhra Pradesh about the possibility of increasing the discharge from the dam and requesting them to take precautionary measures.
Five families on the banks of the Tungabhadra at Kampli taluk in Ballari district have been shifted to a safer relief centre.
The Kampli bridge that connected Kampli in Ballari district and Gangavathi in Vijayanagara district remained submerged since Tuesday.
Vast tracts of agricultural fields with paddy, banana, maize, and other standing crops in Koppal, Vijayanagara, and Ballari districts remained flooded for the last few days.
A huge number of people visited the Tungabhadra reservoir to see the view of the overflowing dam and river and the discharge of water through the spillway.
