Maharashtra and Karnataka are again trading charges, this time over the management of flood water flowing across the two States’ borders.
Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa wrote to his counterpart Devendra Fadnavis claiming the release from the Koyna reservoir is leading to an alarming situation in the districts of Belagavi, Vijayapura, Raichur, Kalburgi and Yadgir. Meanwhile, Mr. Fadnavis called the Karnataka CM on Tuesday requesting an early discharge from the Almatti dam, which would ease the food-like situation near Kolhapur.
Both States have been dealing with floods owing to heavy rainfall in the past week, which is likely to continue in the next few days. Senior Maharastra officials said Mr. Fadnavis also spoke to Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh seeking assistance from Central forces. In a tweet following the conversation, he said: “Spoke to Hon Union Minister @rajnathsingh for help and support with coordination and expediting flood rescue & relief efforts through various agencies like @NDRFHQ , @IAF_MCC , @IndiaCoastGuard , Army in Kolhapur & Sangli districts.”
The Chief Minister suspended his leg of the ongoing Mahajanadesh Yatra and has called an emergency Cabinet meeting in Mumbai on the issue on Wednesday. “CM Devendra Fadnavis spoke to Karnataka CM B.S. Yediyurappa and made a request for Almatti discharge. He assured Mr. Fadnavis of positive action,” said an official from the Chief Minister’s Office.
Earlier, Mr. Yediyurappa had witten to the Maharashtra Chief Minister informing him that a ‘huge’ quantity of flood water released from the Koyna dam -- 1.25 lakh cusecs from 20,000 cusecs -- is leading to an alarming situation. The letter followed an aerial inspections on Monday of the flood-hit districts of North Karnataka, where several villages are inundated following overflow from reservoirs of the Krishna’s tributaries on the Maharashtra side. The Karnataka CM said water from the Koyna dam has come into the Krishna river, resulting in its widening by more than 250 m.
The Karnataka government has said water from three other dams in Maharashtra is being discharged, leading to excess water in the Almatti dam and other barrages. This increased overflow has led to flooding in the lower region of the Krishna basin, it said. The Maharashtra government said only the river Panchganga is flowing above danger levels. The State government has evacuated 1,500 villages while the Army, Navy and Coast Guard are on standby. As many as six villages from Shirol, and three others near Kolhapur have been seriously affected, officials said. “Mumbai and Goa doppler radars on the West coast are indicating active monsoon conditions over South Konkan to Karnataka coast. South central Maharashtra, Kolhapur, Satara and Mahabaleshwar are showing cloudy skies with intense echoes over Satara. Rainfall will continue in these areas,” said K.S. Hosalikar, Deputy Director General of Meteorology, India Meteorological Department.
