Bellary: Several monuments of the erstwhile Vijayanagar empire located on the banks of Tungabhadra River in the world heritage site of Hampi are likely to be washed away in the flood waters in the near future due to accumulation of silt in Tungabhadra reservoir.
Rainfall in the Tungabhadra catchment area spread across Shimoga and Davangere has led to overflowing of water from Tungabhadra reservoir which could submerge the 500-700 year old monuments.
The last two weeks of July has seen an inflow into the reservoir at the rate of 1.2 lakh cusecs. Even moderate rainfall is damaging the monuments. Reason: The storage capacity of Tungabhadra dam has come down by 30 per cent owing to silt.
The Purandara Mantapa is completely submerged while the adjacent Rama and Lakshmana temple is partially submerged. Monuments such as Kudre Gombe Mantapa, Varaha Temple and Vijaya Vittala Temple, located near the river have suffered damage owing to soil erosion.
