A week after it was completely closed for vehicular traffic, the authorities on Saturday allowed heavy vehicles to use the bridge near Kollur village.
The bridge was thrown open to light motor vehicle movement on Friday.
The bridge was submerged in the Krishna waters after officials of Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited (KBJNL) released heavy amounts of water from the Basavasagar Reservoir in Narayanpur into the river course last week owing to heavy inflow into the reservoir.
As the bridge remained submerged in the river waters, road connectivity between Shahapur and Raichur via Deodurg was cut-off and vehicle owners were asked to take an alternative route via the Shorapur bypass to reach Deodurg and Raichur.
Fitness certificate
“We allowed heavy motor vehicles to use the bridge after getting fitness certificate from the department concerned,” Shahapur Tahsildar Umakanth Halle told The Hindu.
According to information, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, the officials released 6,000 cusecs of water from the reservoir into the river, while the inflow was 40,000 cusecs. The water level stands at 491.88 m against a full reservoir level of 492.25 m.
The district administration is waiting for a report from the Revenue Department on crop losses due to floods, as several hundred acres of agricultural fields have been inundated and standing crops such as cotton, paddy and green chillis have been affected.
