The north Karnataka region is once again facing a threat of floods with heavy rains battering the area, while increased outflow from reservoirs in Maharashtra is posing danger of flooding. By Monday evening, four persons were killed and two were washed away in the rain fury.
Dharwad, Belagavi, Haveri, Gadag, and Vijayapura districts have received heavy rains for the last three days and the rivers and streams are in spate. Incidents of storm water inundating low-lying areas, entering residential and commercial buildings and causing damage to public and private properties have been reported from the districts.
In Haveri, Basavakumar Hattimattur was washed away in the flood waters on NH 48 when he was commuting on his two-wheeler. His body was found 500 m from the spot of accident. Shoeb, 14, was washed away in Sunnadakaluve while he was crossing it. Efforts are on to trace him. A body traced at Heggeri tank is yet to be identified.
Allabaksh Huddar, 52, drowned in a road side ditch when he tried to cross an inundated road in Hale Torgal village of Ramdurg taluk on Monday, a police officer said, adding that the body was found by evening.
In another incident, a nine-year-old girl died when she fell into a ditch in Dodda Hosur village near Khanapur. Savakka Eerappa Higare of Akkol village in Chikkodi taluk had moved to Dodda Hosur along with her father Eerappa, a shepherd. She fell into the ditch while moving around in the farm.
At Chinchodi village of Deodurga taluk in Raichur district, a 16-year-old boy was washed away in the Krishna while he was trying to cross the river to return home after grazing his livestock. The boy was identified as Santosh Devindrappa, native of Chinchodi. The Raichur district administration have alerted people of the Krishna river bank not to venture nearby as 1.7 lakh cusecs of water has been discharged from Basavasagar reservoir at Narayanapur in Hunsagi taluk of Yadgir district following increased outflow from Alamatti.
Vehicular movement on Hubballi-Solapur road was affected. Rains havoc in Gadag and several low-lying areas were inundated. In Dharwad, nearly 800 houses were damaged. About 30 houses were waterlogged in Ingalahalli village.
A couple in Javoor village and nine construction workers in Ingalagi were rescued from the floods, and fire staff rescued 30 passengers from Yalavigi railway underpass and three persons from Agadi village In Haveri.
