Normal Life Hit as Heavy Rains Batter A Third of Karnataka, Oppn Questions CM Yediyurappa's Absence

Bengaluru: The monsoon has gained enormous strength in Karnataka battering the north, central and coastal regions and leaving millions of people in the lurch. Almost all rivers in north Karnataka, including the major Krishna River, are flowing above the danger mark and have flooded tens of thousands of acres of agricultural land.

Hundreds of villages and towns were also inundated while rail and road links remained affected.

The situation in hilly Malnad and the adjacent coastal Karnataka was also grim because of the unprecedented rains that fell relentlessly for 72 hours. Major rivers Sharavathi, Thunga, Nethravathi, Kali, Bedthi, Aghanashini, Varada and Bhadra are in spate.

In the past one week, the rains have affected Shimoga, Chickmagalur, Hassan, Udupi, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts. The river Cauvery has flooded several villages in Kodagu district.

The Sharavathi reservoir, the largest in Karnataka that takes care of 25% of the state’s total electricity needs, has about 1,50,000 cusecs water inflow in just 24 hours.

All schools and colleges have been closed across Malnad, coastal and north Karnataka due to the unabated rain. In the hilly Malnad region, landslides and floods blocked several roads bringing the movement of people and goods to a complete halt in many places. On top of this, the disrupted power supply has affected millions.

Several bridges in Uttara Kannada district went underwater affecting the movement of vehicles on Mangalore-Mumbai national highway, reports have said.

The 12-day-old BS Yediyurappa government is now facing flak over its failure to assist the 1/3 of the state’s residents who have been affected by the rain. Yediyurappa is in New Delhi to finalise the Cabinet formation. Currently, he is the only minister in his council of ministers. Since there is no Cabinet, officials are handling the situation back home.

The opposition Congress and JDS have attacked BJP for focusing on politics and remaining about the flood affected people. Former minister and senior Congress MLA Krishna Byregowda in a tweet questioned the state government saying that a minister is yet to attend to the problem.

The JDS has also criticised the government alleging that the ruling party and government are missing.

Countering the charges, chief minister BS Yediyurappa said that he was personally monitoring the situation from New Delhi and would be returning home soon. “I have already conducted an aerial survey of the flood affected north Karnataka region. I am getting minute by minute inputs of the situation in Malnad and coastal Karnataka. I have instructed the chief secretary to take up relief and rescue works. I am aware of the grim situation,” he told News18.

The Met department has warned that heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to continue for a few more days.