BELAGAVI: Heavy and incessant rainfall in Belagavi and the Karnataka-Maharashtra border area has created havoc as several roads including stretches of NH-4 and NH-4A are inundated hampering vehicular traffic.
According to sources, the movement of vehicles on NH-4 -- which connects Pune and Belagavi -- has been halted since Friday morning as large stretches of this road inundated at Nipani on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border and Vantamuri and Sankeshwar near Belagavi.
The NH-4 has turned into a large lake near Sankeshwar with several vehicles stranded on both sides. People travelling on the road are taking alternative routes even as heavy rains continue to lash the region.
A high alert has been sounded in areas surrounding the Krishna river and its tributaries which are all in spate. The people have been alerted to take precautions.
At least eight bridges on the border have submerged in the overflowing Krishna forcing the authorities to divert traffic. Many routes connecting parts of Maharashtra from Belagavi are badly hit by the incessant downpour.
The rail route to Goa via Belagavi and Castlerock also has been affected due to mudslides while the traffic on the roads leading to Goa from Belagavi via Chorla and NH-4A also getting affected since Thursday.
Several low-lying areas in Belagavi city flooded following heavy rain and efforts are on by local authorities to flush water from the waterlogged streets and localities.
Meanwhile, a man who was caught badly in a flooded lake at Waghwade near Belagavi was able to swim to safety with a large number of villagers motivating him to take a plunge to save himself. After struggling for several hours, he decided to swim to safety after the villagers managed to get a rope tied on both ends to help him.
In another incident, a man stranded in his house near the swelling Pandari river at Londa near Belagavi was rescued miraculously by a team of police personnel from Khanapur police station on Friday. The help came several hours after the man flashed his torch to help others to spot him.