Flood alert in 3 Karnataka districts as dams overflow

The Karnataka government Monday issued a flood alert in three districts of the old Mysore region and shifted hundreds of people to safer places as dams across the Cauvery river basin were overflowing due to heavy discharge of rain water.

"A flood alert has been given in Chamarajanagar, Mysore and Mandya districts through which the Cauvery flows, as increasing discharge of rain water from Kabini and KRS (Krishana Raja Sagar) dams inundated low-laying areas along the river banks," a senior official of the state disaster management told IANS here.

The three districts are about 100-200 km from Bangalore.

Following heavy rains in the catchment areas and copious inflows into the river basin, the water resources department has released about one lakh cusecs of water from both the reservoirs since Sunday, resulting in flood waters entering villages and paddy fields.

"Paddy crops and sugarcane fields in several villages of Chamarajanagar were submerged in flood waters. Rain waters from streams and tributaries of the river entered houses in low-laying areas in Mysore and Mandya districts," the official said.

With water in the KRS dam in Mandya district reaching its full level of 124.80 feet, the department has discharged over 80,000 cusecs to keep the level one feet level.

"The Kabini reservoir is also full following heavy inflows from catchment areas in Wyanad district of Kerala. To maintain the water level two feel below its maximum level of 2284, the department has released an excess of 35,000 cusecs of water into the river basin to flow downstream into Tamil Nadu," the official said.

As Harangi reservoir in the Kodagu district across the Western Ghats also received heavy inflows (8,900 cusecs), about 8,700 cusecs was released to ensure water level stood two feet below its maximum level of 2,859 feet.