Water released from Dhanegaon barrage in Maharashtra has damaged crops in some villages in Bidar district.
District administration officials says irrigation department officials released `unspecified amount’ of water from Dhanegaon reservoir into the Manjra river on Wednesday. This has flooded fields on both sides of the river bank in Bhalki and Basava Kalyan, an official said. They are yet to estimate the extent of flooding or quantum of loss.
This release led to pressure on the barrage near Kongli and some fields were inundated. Some farmers in Hulsoor, Shahajahani Aurad and Kongli villages complained that they suffered losses.
Meanwhile, heavy rain on Wednesday and Thursday caused inconvenience to farmers in certain places. The bridge above Benne Tora stream in Hipparga in Basava Kalyan taluk was submerged and commuters had to look for alternative routes.
The tank in Kalasadal in Bhalki taluk was breached at one place and water gushed into nearby farms. Officials are saying crops in around 6,000 acres might have been damaged.
Manjra river, a tributary of the Godavari, originates in a village called Manjrasuba in Bheed district in Maharashtra, after flowing through Latur and Bidar, it enters Medak district in Telangana. The Karanja river joins in just before it enters Telangana. Karnataka has built barrages on the Manjra at four places in Bhalki and Aurad taluks. Water release from Dhanegaon has remained an unresolved issue during years of excess rainfall.
BJP leaders including district president Shailendra Beldale and former Zilla panchayat member D. K Sidram took out a rally in Bhalki demanding a compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre to farmers who suffered crop loss. They also alleged low quality work on the barrages over the river.
