BELAGAVI: Agricultural fields around the Bellary Nala and Halaga-Mache bypass road on the outskirts of Belagavi have been inundated with rains lashing continuously since the onset of the monsoon. The situation now is in sharp contrast to a few months ago when crops had almost withered due to the continued dry spell.
With the Halaga-Mache bypass road virtually blocking water flow in the nala, farmlands on both sides of the road are waterlogged causing huge loss of crops to farmers. They attribute the annual mess in their fields to the government’s failure to desilt the Bellary Nala.
“For many years, we have been suffering losses due to the flooding. It is high time the local authorities helped us get rid of it by desilting the Bellary Nala,’’ farmers said.
In a desperate attempt to prevent further losses, the farmers are taking steps to flush out the water from their fields. They say rainwater that flows from Yellur village, located uphill towards the Halaga-Mache road, also stagnates in the fields.
Speaking to TNIE, Raju Marve, a farmer, said that earlier more than 700 acres of agriculture land was getting affected due to flooding of Bellary Nala and places like Juney Belgaon, Halga, Vadgaon, Shahapur, Bastwad, Basavan-Kudachi, Angol and surrounding areas were affected. But now, even the fields located on the other side of bypass road are getting flooded without an outlet. Marve said 30-km long Bellary Nala traverses through dense industrial and population clusters, agriculture farms and fields before joining Markandeya river.
He alleged that several industries and even hospitals release waste into the Nala which also damages crops and causes health hazards to farmers.
When contacted, NHAI authorities said they have already created a channel to allow the rainwater to flow to Bellary Nala. They admitted that the bypass road work created the flooding problem, but said they are doing their best to deal with it.