Heavy rains lashed Karnataka’s Belagavi district for the last three days and the death toll has now risen to three. At around 4 pm on Tuesday, a police official, who was deployed along NH-4 for rescue operations, died in a horrific accident.
Eranna Latti, a sub inspector attached with the Kittur Police Station was allegedly hit by a car along NH-4. According to the Kittur Police, Eranna was deployed along the national highway to help clear the road for vehicular movement.
“The rain had flooded the road and a tree was cleared. Eeranna was standing on the side of the road, when he was hit by a car, which was travelling on the road. The driver of the car lost control of the wheel and rammed into the SI,” the Kittur Police told TNM.
Eranna allegedly died on the spot. At the time of writing, the rescue personnel were shifting his body to the nearest hospital.
On Monday, heavy rains in the catchment area of the Krishna river caused flooding in parts of northern Karnataka, leading to two deaths. The outflow from the reservoirs of the Krishna basin caused the inundation of several villages and farmlands.
A man was washed away in the floodwaters of Krishna river in Belagavi district on Monday. Maruti Jadhav, 30, was washed away at a field near Chikkodi. This comes three days after Shivanand Nayak was washed away in the floodwaters at Adeppa Ankalagi village.
In Belagavi, the Vedaganga river overflowed on Tuesday and surrounding villages were submerged. A high alert has been issued in the surrounding villages. According to Deputy Commissioner of Bommanahalli, the Yemagarani village, which is closest to the Vedaganga river, is waterlogged up to 10 ft above ground level. The bridge across the river, which is around 40 ft tall, was also submerged due to incessant rains. “We have cordoned off all areas within a 3 km radius of the river due to the floods,” he said.
Similarly, the Markandeya river also overflowed leading to floods in villages located in Athani and Gokak taluks. The rampant floods have resulted in over 150 acres of sugarcane plantations being submerged in Nidagundi and Muddebihal taluks.
According to the Central Relief Commission, around 8,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Belagavi district alone. Of these, 3,132 people have been shifted to relief camps. The remaining are yet to be rescued as crucial roads are blocked. Relief camps have been set up in Belagavi, Uttara Kannada, Bagalkot and Raichur districts.