After heavy rains lashed Karnataka's Belagavi district on Monday, a portion of the Savadatti Fort collapsed due to the impact. Built in the 18th century, the fort had not been conserved due to which the walls of the fort had lost its strength, an official with the Belagavi District administration said. The district administration said that a section of the wall at the front entrance and another wall inside the fort near the well collapsed on Monday.
Heavy rains have been lashing Belagavi district since Sunday. On Monday, Bailahongal, Hirebagewadi, Savadatti, Ramadurga, Athani and Gokak witnessed heavy rains in the district.
Residents of Savadatti, who had gathered near the fort, saw the fort's wall collapse. Savadatti was ruled by the Ratta dynasty from the 9th to 13th century before the capital was shifted to the erstwhile Belgaum. In 1730, after the Savanur Nawab gifted Savadatti and Dharwar villages to the Desai of Naralgund, he built the fort between 1743 and 1751.
On Monday, five houses in the district's Manikatti, five in Hulikatti, three in Gurlhosur, and two each in Shirsangi and Kagdal, collapsed due to heavy rains. The residents were shifted to rehabilitation camps located in Belagavi.
A check dam located in Haggedolla was washed away due to heavy inflow of rainwater on Monday. Flights that were supposed to land at the Belagavi airport from Tirupati, Hyderabad and Bengaluru were diverted to airports in Hyderabad and Hubballi.
In the district's Hukkeri, heavy rainfall of 14 cm was recorded. Rains also lashed other parts of north Karnataka including Bagalkote, Kalaburagi district and Koppal. On Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red warning for coastal districts predicting heavy rainfall. Orange warning was issued for parts of north interior and south interior Karnataka including Bagalkot, Belagavi, Raichur, Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Chikmagalur, Hassan, Kodagu and Shivamogga districts.