BELAGAVI: The sudden downpour which lashed the district on Sunday brought back memories of the floods in August. Several areas flooded and agriculture lands in many flood-hit areas were once again inundated. Cars, jeeps and two-wheelers were washed away at Laxmi Lake locality and Sankeshwar town as the area received showers till late in the evening. Many low-lying areas were flooded.
At Galataga, Borgaonwadi and adjoining villages in Nipani taluk, excessive rain led to floods causing residents to panic, while a large number of devotees were prevented from entering Yellamma temple at Kokatnur, Athani taluk as it was also flooded. Altogether six bridges in Chikkodi taluk were flooded as well. Traffic on Golden Quadrilateral (NH-4) was hampered between Sutagatti to Sankeshwar as the stretch was inundated. A large number of vehicles were found stranded until late at night on both sides of the highway.
Meanwhile, passengers of a KSRTC bus had a miraculous escape as the bus had got stuck in a crater on a road near Vantmuru on the outskirts of Belagavi. As the front portion of the bus skidded into the crater, passengers inside hurried outside. According to sources, no one was injured in the incident.Several villages of Ramdurg taluk, were inundated as well. Most of the roads connecting various parts of the taluk were under water, bringing vehicular movement to a grinding halt. A vast stretch of agriculture fields on Belagavi city’s outskirts were deluged in the overflowing Bellary nala.
Crops sown in thousands of hectares merely a week ago washed away in the floods.
On Sunday evening, a 55-year-old resident of Kasamalgi, Khanapur taluk died when the wall of his house collapsed due to the incessant rain. Another person, Allabaksh Huddar (52), an agricutural labourer from Haletorgal, slipped into an overflowing stream and died while crossing a flooded road at 8 pm on Monday.
A nine-year-old girl Savakka Hegare drowned in a stream in Doddahosur, Khanapur taluk after she accidentally slipped, on Monday. Her body was fished out after a rescue operation that lasted six hours.
Meanwhile, the rain affected the lives of people in Khanapur, Bailhongal, Kittur, and Belagavi taluks, and the threat of flood is looming large over people residing in the Krishna river basin.