Flood alert issued to Krishnagiri villages

Water released from Kelevarapalli dam flowing above the temporary road near the flyover under construction across South Pennar River in Thorappalli, Krishnagiri district, on Thursday. Photo: N. Bashkaran

Flood alert was issued in over 15 villages situated on the banks of River South Pennar in Krishnagiri district on Wednesday.

Official sources said due to rain in Karnataka, the water inflow into the Kelevarapalli dam has increased considerably from Tuesday night. This resulted in the increased of water level to 44 feet.

The FRL is 44.4 feet in the dam.

Water released

Keeping in mind the safety of the dam, a little over 1000 cusecs of water was released into the river from Wednesday morning.

The flooded river posed threat to over 15 villages including Thorappalli, the native village of the former Governor General of India C. Rajagopalachari and cut off from the Krishnagiri-Bangalore National Highway.

Though the construction of a flyover across the river is in progress, the people living in and around Thorappalli find it difficult to reach the National Highway.

School students and office-goers were affected badly, as they were forced to wade through water.

Farmer too found it difficult to take their produce to the markets.

It was expected that the water released from Kelavarapalli dam would reach Krishnagiri Reservoir Project (KRP Dam) on Thursday.

Shortage

However, despite the copious water flowing in the Cauvery and South Pennar in Krishnagiri district, many parts of the districts including Veppanahalli, Berigai, Bargur, Pochampalli and in and around Uthangarai continued to face severe water shortage.