The Malnad region continued to receive widespread rains on Friday as well. There were reports of landslips, and damage caused to houses and roads in the region on the day. There is an Orange alert for parts of Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts till Saturday morning.
A landslip occurred in Koppa taluk of Chikkamagaluru district, damaging the road that connected a couple of villages with the rest of the district. Residents of Shantikudige and neighbouring villages cannot move out unless the road is restored.
Chikkamagaluru Deputy Commissioner K.N. Ramesh has asked the officers to be alert and take appropriate measures in case of any damage due to rains. In case of house damage, the victims should get relief within a couple of days. The tahsildars should keep the track of rainfall, he said.
Zilla Panchayat CEO G. Prabhu said villages in 47 panchayats were vulnerable to floods. The panchayat officers should be prepared to face the situation. He also instructed the Forest Department officers to identify weak trees and remove them.
Damage
In the last one week, as many as four houses have been damaged completely in Shivamogga district. Besides that, 68 houses were damaged partially, due to heavy rains. Vast tracts of agricultural lands have been flooded. Among the crops affected are paddy and maize. Around 265 ha of paddy fields in Sagar taluk are badly hit. Six road bridges and 12 roads have been damaged due to rains in the district. The power supply has been hit as 210 electric poles fell on the ground and 44 transformers were damaged.
If the rains continue unabated, Shivamogga district administration anticipates that 52 urban localities could be flooded in the coming days. And, 163 villages could be affected.
Control room
The inflow into the Hemavati reservoir at Gorur in Hassan taluk has been increasing. Within a day, the water level in the dam has gone up by two feet. As of Friday, the level stood at 2,115.44 ft against the full level of 2,922 ft. The engineers of the dam have issued instructions to the public residing downstream of the reservoir to shift to safer localities as crest gates could be anytime to release water to the river.
The district administration has started a control room to receive complaints regarding rain damage. The public can contact the control room at 08172-268395.
