Flood situation in Krishna, Bhima eases, toll rises to 14

Bangalore, Aug 16 (UNI) The flood situation in rivers Krishna and Bhima, that ravaged North Karnataka for over a month now, is showing signs of easing with the flood waters slowly receding following decrease in discharge from dams in neighbouring Maharashtra, even as the death toll in flood-related incidents rose to 14 today.

However, scores of villages, many roads and bridges in Belgaum, Bijapur and Gulbarga districts still remained submerged and the situation is expected to improve in the next three to six days, officials said.

The death toll rose to 14, with a person being washed away in river Bhima near Devangaon village in Bijapur district. Four persons each have died in Gulbarga and Dakshina Kannada, three in Bijapur, two in Belgaum and one in Bagalkot district.

In Belgaum district, the inflow into river Krishna from Maharashtra fell to 2.05 lakh cusecs from 3.92 lakh cusecs yesterday. However, the water level in Ghataprabha and Malaprabha, tributaries of Krishna, remained high. Major bridges like Darur bridge in Athani taluk and Manjri bridge in Chikkkodi taluk, across river Krishna, and Lolasur bridge across Ghataprabha remained submerged.

A Bijapur report said the level in Bhima fell markedly after authorities in Maharashtra reduced the outflow from Ujjini and Veerbhatkal dams. The inflow was reduced to seven metres at Dulikhed, the entry point of the river. The level had touched 14.35 metres, well above the danger mark, three days ago.

The level in Alamatti reservoir across river Krishna rose to 518.10 m. The inflow was 3.60 lakh cusecs, while the outflow was maintained at 3.34 lakh cusecs.

In Gulbarga district, the flood waters in river Bhima had receded, giving some respite to the people who had a harrowing experience as the swollen river had submerged large tracts of land and nearly 200 villages. However, 40 villages were still marooned and 13,000 people remained in 28 relief centres. The situation was likely to return to normalcy in a week's time.

In Mysore district, the level in river Cauvery continued to rise due to continuous rains in the catchment areas. However, the flood situation was well under control, officials said.

The inflow into Krishna Raja Sagar dam, which had filled up, was 47,781 cusecs, while the discharge was 43,866 cusecs. River Kabini was also in spate, with Beechnahalli dam which was full recording an inflow of 30,144 cusecs and outflow of 27,643 cusecs. UNI TEAM-RS GD SSC DB2002