BELAGAVI: Despite steps taken by the state government to evacuate thousands of people caught in floods in various parts of North Karnataka, a large number of them are still stranded in the heavily flooded villages, waiting to be rescued.
More than 1.5 lakh people have been evacuated in Belagavi district alone while efforts are on by Army, Navy and Air Force teams to airlift people in Belagavi, Bagalkot and Raichur. About 400 villages are marooned in Belagavi and Bagalkot regions with thousands still trapped as the areas have become inaccessible. The flood situation in
North Karnataka worsened on Friday with drastic rise in the release of water from Koyna dam in Maharashtra after 4 pm. A team of about 50 Army and Navy personnel were struggling to evacuate about 500 people caught in the flooded Yadur, Chandurwadi and Manjari villages of Chikkodi taluk.
Speaking to TNIE, Navy and Army personnel said hundreds of people in Yadur are unwilling to move to safer areas though the water level in the Krishna river has been swelling rapidly. “We have forcibly evacuated many villagers in Yadur. Many of them insisted that they will stay back even as the flood situation is worsening here,’’ they said. According to sources, it was getting tougher to arrange boats or helicopters to evacuate people as the number of those caught in floods was huge on Friday throughout North Karnataka region.
According to Belagavi Deputy Commissioner S B Bommanahalli, two MI-17 helicopters, one Chetak and another Navy chopper are being used since Thursday evening to shift people from the flooded areas.