Life remained disrupted in Dharwad as incessant rainfall continued to lash the district on Wednesday.
Almost all major water tanks in the district are fast filling as it continued to rain heavily. The Neersagar reservoir in Kalghatgi taluk, Unkal Lake in Hubballi and Indiramanna Kere in Alnavar are overflowing. Out of the 112 water bodies in the district, 13 tanks are overflowing and among them, nine tanks are overflowing beyond the danger level forcing the administration to take precautionary measures.
Rain-related mishaps have taken the life of one person and two head of cattle in the district. Kashayya Mahadevayya Hosallimath (57), a resident of Bhardwad village of Kundgol taluk, was drowned in a stream on Tuesday evening. The body was recovered on Wednesday.
Initial assessment by the district administration has revealed loss of property and life in Dharwad district. So far, a total of 705 houses, including 272 houses in Dharwad, 112 in Kalghatgi, 95 in Hubballi Urban, 87 in Hubballi Rural, 48 in Kundgol, 40 in Navalgund, 33 in Alnavar and 18 in Annigeri taluks, have been damaged.
Low-lying areas in both Hubballi and Dharwad were inundated on Wednesday and there was report of rainwater entering around 300 houses in Hubballi. Following the downpour, waterlogging left a few roads unfit for vehicular movement in both Hubballi and Dharwad.
As several families residing adjacent to the storm-water drain in Hubballi have already been shifted to safer places, there have been no reports of problems being caused due to the overflowing Unkal Lake.
Although Navalgund taluk has not received much rain, people are apprehensive of floods as two major rivulets — the Bennihalla and the Tuprihalla — that pass through the region are in spate due to heavy rainfall in other parts of the district.
Rescue operation
With rain forecast for the next three days, the district administration has taken several precautionary measures. It has launched rescue operations besides issuing a caution to people residing in low-lying areas.
Apart from setting up helplines and opening rehabilitation centres, the district administration has appointed senior officials as nodal officers in all taluks to supervise the rescue and relief works. The destitute relief and rehabilitation centre staff too have been engaged to identify and shift the destitute and orphans. So far, two persons, an aged man and a mentally challenged woman, have been rescued and shifted to such a centre located at Rayapura here. While the aged man was found lying on the roadside in Dharwad on Tuesday, the woman was found near the airport in Hubballi on Wednesday.
Rehabilitation
Over 300 people from three low-lying areas of Alnavar have been shifted to the rehabilitation centre and provided food, shelter and other amenities. People have been moved to the rehabilitation centre as the Indirammana Kere in Hoolikere village off Alnavar town is brimming with water posing a threat to some areas in the vicinity.
Similarly, another 300 people were accommodated at the rehabilitation centre at Saptapur Bhavikatti in Dharwad. In Arekurahatti village of Navalgund taluk, 120 people have been sent to a rehabilitation centre as the Bennihalla and the Tuprihalla rivulets are in spate. In all, 821 people of 435 families have been shifted to rehabilitation centres in the district. On Wednesday, three more rehabilitation centres were opened at Kiresur, Hebsur and Bhandiwad villages.