Heavy rain continued in parts of Belagavi district and disrupted life. Officials said that at least 200 houses were completely or partially damaged in the district and four school buildings in Khanapur were damaged in the last 24 hours.
According to revenue officials, 317 houses have been damaged since June 1 this year. Of these, 271 are severely damaged, 45 partially damaged and one is completely damaged.
Water levels in the Krishna and its tributaries continued to rise due to heavy rainfall and water release from Maharashtra.
Minimal discharge
“However, water release from the reservoirs is minimal. Discharge includes water that flows down the catchment areas in Maharashtra and Karnataka due to continuous rainfall,’’ an Irrigation Department officer said.
Officials said that the outflow from Alamatti dam was increased to 4,000 cusecs on Monday, from zero cusecs on Saturday. Officials said that the outflow could be raised to 30,000 cusecs by midnight [on Monday].
The inflow into the Alamatti dam was 82,000 cusecs on Monday, but it was expected to rise by Tuesday evening, due to rainfall and water discharge in the upstream. The storage in Alamatti, however, was low at 77 tmcft as against the gross capacity of 123 tmcft.
Discharge of Krishna waters at Kallol Barrage on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border was 88,360 cusecs. This was 13,350 cusecs more than the discharge on Sunday. However, this is far below the danger level of 2.9 lakh cusecs, officials said.
The outflow from Rajapur Barrage was 69,000 cusecs. There was an increase in discharge at Kallol Barrage by 13,350 cusecs as compared to Sunday’s discharge. Discharge of Dudhaganga waters as measured at Sadalaga station was 1,350 cusecs higher than on Sunday.
Preparations under way
Irrigation Minister Govind Karjol said that the situation is not as grave as to declare it as floods. People are facing inconvenience due to heavy rain in some parts of North Karnataka. Officials have made preparations to manage the situation, he said in a video message to the people.
He said that most reservoirs in Maharashtra were holding water that was only between 20% and 30% of their gross capacity. Therefore, release of water there is unlikely to cause floods in the State, he said.
