Kaveri water floods low-lying areas in Kodagu

As monsoon rains continue to wreak havoc in Karnataka, water from the Kaveri River reached sections of the area's low-lying Kodagu district.

Kodagu: As monsoon rains continue to wreak havoc in Karnataka, water from the Kaveri River reached sections of the area’s low-lying Kodagu district and caused alarm among the residents, officials said on Tuesday.

According to District Authority Officials, heavy rain battered the Kodagu district in Karnataka as a result of which the Kaveri River (Cauvery) swelled and entered some of the low-lying areas of the district and alarmed the locals.

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The heavy rainfall led to a significant rise in water inflow in the Harangi Reservoir in Kodagu, consequently, the Reservoir gates were opened to release a substantial volume of about 30,000 cusecs of water. After 30,000 cusecs of water from Harangi Reservoir were released into the river, the water entered the Kushalanagar City area.

As a precautionary measure, all residents living downstream and alongside the river were advised by the district administration to relocate to safer areas, said officials.

District authority Officials visited the place as water seeped into the local’s residences and said that they had advised people to move to safer places as there was fear of water entering the low-lying areas.

The Harangi Dam is located near Hudgur village, Kushalnagar taluk in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. The masonry dam is built across the river Harangi, a tributary of the Kaveri. The dam is located about 9 km away from the heart of Kushalnagar town.

On Monday, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar visited the war room of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to analyse the rain situation around Bengaluru. Notably, all schools in five talukas of Chikkamagaluru district stood closed on Monday amid the prediction of heavy rains in the region.

District Collector Chikkamagaluru, Meena Nagaraj said on Sunday, “Holiday in schools announced by district authority in 5 talukas of Chikkamagaluru district (NR Pura, Mudigere, Sringeri, Chikmagalur, Koppa) in view of heavy rain in the region.” Earlier, heavy rains lashed parts of coastal Karnataka on Saturday.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an Orange alert on Saturday evening for coastal Karnataka and predicted heavy rainfall in the region.

The MeT department has also issued a warning to the people living in the Coastal Karnataka region to avoid areas that are prone to waterlogging and asked them to stay away from vulnerable structures which might collapse due to incessant rains.