Drought to floods: 11 villages face threat in Bagalkot district

Hubballi: Over 11 villages in Bagalkot district could go under water if the swollen Krishna river does not subside over the next few days. As many as 16 villages in Jamkhandi and Bilagi taluks could be partially affected as well as  2 lakh cusecs of water is coursing through the river thanks to heavy rain in neighbouring Maharashtra.

Officials have appealed to people living in the river basin to move to safer places as the Krishna is in spate following the release of water from the Koyna reservoir in Maharashtra and its own tributaries. The district administration has 16 motorboats on standby to ferry marooned people to the port and as many as 45 swimmers have been placed on alert to deal with emergencies if any. Also, over 20 doctors have been roped in to prevent spread of contagious diseases in the area in the event of a flood.

“We have alerted the people living on the banks of the river to move to  safer places and appointed 27 nodal officers to deal with a possible flood situation in Jamkhandi taluk. Transportation  has been provided to shift  people and arrangements have been made to set up gruel and cow centres for supply of food to the displaced,” said assistant commissioner Mullai Muhilan.

While the Hipparagi dam in Jamkhandi taluk with a storage capacity of 4.48 tmc feet, is full to the brim, increasing the flow of water to the Almatti reservoir, the Shrama Bindu Sagar, a barrage built across the Krishna river, is  already submerged. Deputy commissioner, P A Meghannavar said the administration was prepared for the likely floods and would use more boats to rescue people in distress.