KRS flood alert: 92 villages identified as vulnerable in Mandya district in south Karnataka, control rooms established

Control rooms have been established in south Karnataka. People in low-lying areas have been told to move to safer places.

In view of heavy rains in the catchment area of the Cauvery and anticipated increase in inflow to the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir, the authorities in Mandya district have gone into full alert mode and identified 92 villages as vulnerable. A flood warning has been issued.

The Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) has said that surplus water could be released at any moment. People along the river banks and low-lying areas were told to move to safer places.

The warning stems from incessant rains in Kodagu district where Cauvery river was in spate at many places. As a result, the rate of inflow into the KRS was 44,617 cusecs and the reservoir level was 116.60 feet against the full level of 124.80 feet as on July 19. In addition, inflow into the Harangi reservoir in Kushalnagar went up to 22,520 cusecs while the rate of outflow was 15,000 cusecs. The reservoir was a little over 4 feet away from reaching the maximum level at 4 p.m. on July 19.

Even the Hemavathi reservoir in Hassan district was receiving copious amount of inflow and the storage was 85% of the gross capacity. The rate of inflow into Hemavathi was 35,871 cusecs and the reservoir level was 2916.10 ft against the full level of 2922 ft. Once the crest gates of the Hemavathi are also opened, the cumulative flow from Cauvery, Harangi and Hemavathi will augment the rate of inflow into the KRS.

Given the unfolding scenario, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Kumar reviewed the situation on July 19. He informed that water would be released from the reservoir once the leave reaches 120 feet. In case the outflow exceeds 100,000 cusecs per day, then 92 villages in the district were likely to be affected for which the local administration should be geared up to handle any exigency, he told officials.

Of the 92 villages, 53 are in Srirangapatna taluk, 15 in Pandavapura taluk, and 21 in Malavalli taluk — all of which falls under the KRS command area. In addition, 3 villages in K.R. Pet coming under Hemavathi command area will also be affected, according to the Deputy Commissioner.

Control rooms have been established at the taluk level. Officials have been instructed to follow the standard protocol of alerting people in the vulnerable areas before the release of water. Authorities have constituted a task force at the taluk and gram panchayat level to handle any crisis.