Relief and restoration work by district administrations is in full swing in flood-affected areas in north Karnataka, as the rains have reduced considerably over the last 24 hours. Heavy rains lashed the state from August 4 and claimed 48 lives till Monday night across the state. Out of them, 13 were in Belagavi, three were in Bagalkot, three in Dharwad, and one in Haveri.
What to expect
Rainfall data of the Karnataka State Disaster Monitoring Centre showed that Belagavi, which is the worst-affected region till now, received only 3.5 mm of rains on Sunday. Neighboring Bagalokote and Vijaypura received only 0.1 mm of rainfall on average. Even Haveri and Dharwad received only 2.6 mm and 2.1 mm of rainfall respectively. This means all north interior Karnataka districts received less than normal rainfall on Sunday, which helped water levels recede.
As the Civil Defense, police, Army, SDRF and NDRF continue to help the district administrations, here's a district-wise lowdown of the latest situation in the northern part of Karnataka.
Belagavi
Other than the local rainfall, release of water from dams in Maharashtra (especially the Koyna dam), worsened the situation in Belagavi as Maharashtra, the upper riparian state, also experienced floods.
Laxman Nimbargi, SP of Belagavi district, said, “The focus has now shifted to relief and rehabilitation from rescue. Waters are receding but not drastically. If the weather remains the same, we expect waters to recede even further. We expect that by Monday evening, NH-4 will be cleared, which is flooded now in two places in Nippani.”
“We are prepared in case it rains again. Now, we are operating 300-plus rehabilitation centres which have medical facilities and food supply. There are relief centres across the district, headed by respective taluk level officers. Once the water recedes, only then can we do a full assessment of damage to the houses and crops. Reconstruction and reintegration will be done subsequently,” he added.
Helicopter rescue operations were stopped on Monday, and are now only being used to airdrop food to isolated locations.
Bagalkot
Bagalkot has also seen an improvement in condition. Four deaths have been recorded in the district, and senior district officials said that there has been no more loss of life.
Deputy Commissioner SB Bomanhalli said, “Water has slowly started receding in Ghataprabha and Malaprabha affected regions. In areas affected by the Krishna river, there has been no significant improvement. But, we have already started post-relief work. We will soon be able to assess the crop loss and damage to property.”
Vijayapura
“There are no casualties. Water has not started receding. Even though there has been no rain, water is mostly at the same level. But, there are no ongoing rescue operations. We have moved people in all vulnerable areas to safety. The relief centres are running as planned," Vijayapura DC YS Patil told TNM.
Patil hopes that the situation will not worsen.
"We don't think there will be further aggravation of the situation. The release of water from Koyna dam in Maharashtra, which reaches Almatti, will continue for another 24-48 hours. The water will start receding only after that. Only then can we carry out further assessment of damage," he said.
Dharwad
In Dharwad, the situation has returned to normalcy with regard to rainfall. Water has reduced in most parts of the district, according to officials of the State Emergency Operation Centre. The district administration is assessing the damage to houses and officials have said that adequate compensation will be provided.
Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje visited Hanchinal village of Dharwad along with the district administration to distribute relief materials and assess the degree of damage to crops and property.
Haveri
Union Minister Prahlad Joshi visited the flood-affected areas in Savanur and Shiggaon taluk of Haveri on Monday. Here too, water receded in most parts of the district and restoration work of roads began.
Over 13,000 people from the district are in relief camps. The district has seen one death as a result of the floods.
Gadag, Yadgir and Raichur
The situation has also improved in the districts of Gadag, Yadgir and Raichur. District administrations have begun road restoration and other infrastructural repairs and the extent of damage is being assessed.
“The situation is normal now and there have been no casualties. We don't expect any more flooding at present. Nearly 6 lakh cusecs of water have been released, and the situation is manageable," Additional DC of Yadgir Prakash Rajput told TNM.