Dubare shut for tourists; boats pressed into service; another quake at Chembu village

Madikeri/Kushalnagar: The Southwest Monsoon has gained vigour, waterlogging many areas, especially in Madikeri and Somwarpet taluks that have been experiencing widespread heavy rainfall for over a week. The link between certain villages has been cut off and boats are being used to evacuate stranded residents. In the last 24 hours, till 8.30 am today, Madikeri taluk has received a total rainfall of 538 mm and Somwarpet taluk has broken this record with 544 mm while it rained 412 mm in Virajpet taluk.

According to the data released by Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), 126 mm of rain has been recorded at Kalakerinidugane in Madikeri taluk, 125 mm of rain has been recorded at Bhagamandala, 124.5 mm at Benguru in Madikeri taluk, 32.5 mm at Karike, 133 mm at Chembu 125 mm at Peraje 127.5 mm at Madikeri hobli and 225 mm rainfall has been recorded at Galibeedu.

Another quake at Chembu

Amidst heavy rainfall, Chembu village experienced another earthquake at 6.22 am today measuring 1.8 on the Richter Scale. Its epicentre was 1.1 km southeast of Aranthodu in Sullia taluk, Dakshina Kannada bordering Kodagu.

As per the Seismic Intensity Map of the earthquake from the epicentre, the intensity observed is low and the tremor was felt up to a radial distance of 20-30 km from the epicentre.

Koynadu village in Madikeri taluk is the worst affected by the rains as water has entered many houses and some of the houses have been surrounded by at least 5-ft water. Residents have moved to safer places with their vehicles and valuables and the District Administration is planning to open relief centres.

The hill behind Koynadu Government Primary School has collapsed today. However, as of now, there has been no damage reported to the school building. At the Kindi Dam in Koynadu, tonnes of driftwood have gathered as the flood water is carrying them along.

Roads submerged, washed away

The Bhagamandala-Napoklu Road & Bhagamandala-Madikeri Road have been submerged in many places and vehicle movement has been banned. As a precaution, the District Administration has banned movement of heavy vehicles like timber trucks on the roads. However, buses, milk trucks, LPG and fuel supply vehicles are exempted.

The road that connects Kudupaje ancestral house at Thannimani in Bhagamandala has been washed away. The road is taken by many families daily and this is the only link road. Even the children go to school and the elderly are taken to hospitals on this road. Many residents are awaiting help from the District Administration and relief teams.

Boats have been pressed into service at Bhagamandala and they are being operated by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Home Guards. The Mukkodlu Bhadrakali Temple has been surrounded by flood water and the link between Hodakana and Mukkodlu has been disrupted.

30,000 cusecs from Harangi

Owing to heavy rainfall, the outflow from Harangi Dam has been stepped up and today morning, over 30,000 cusecs are being released as the Dam has over 25,000 cusecs inflow. Both the Harangi and Cauvery rivers bring water in full force to the Dam and the outflow is being planned accordingly.

The bridge in front of the Harangi Dam has been submerged and the Cauvery Nisargadhama has been closed for boating now. If the outflow increases, the entire Nisargadhama will be shut.

10 tmcft water since June 2022

According to Harangi Dam engineers, from June this year, 10 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water has flown into Harangi Dam and out of it, 9 tmcft of water has been released to the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam.

As the outflow had been increased, many low-lying areas in Kushalnagar like Sai Layout are in danger of being submerged. Residents have been asked to move to safer places and the Town Panchayat has arranged vehicles for the people to shift their valuables. Boats are being arranged and relief from NDRF will be sought if the situation worsens.

Dubare closed

Access to Dubare Elephant camp has been cut off and tourists are barred from the tourist place as River Cauvery is flowing above the danger mark and with full force.

Yesterday, a boat carrying tribals and other villagers from one side of Dubare to the Elephant camp suffered a technical snag and over 10 people on the boat were stranded in the middle of the river.

As the water was in full force, the boat was being carried away by the water current. Due to the presence of mind of the boatman, he took the boat near a tree branch so that people could hold the branch and stay afloat. The boat then came to a standstill and the people were brought to safety with another motor boat.