Trains cancelled due to revamp work between Bengaluru KSR-Cantonment: Full list

Railways

Many trains between Bengaluru and nearby towns will be cancelled while inter-state trains will be short-terminated on August 15, 16.

TNM Staff

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The South Western Railways will take up work on automatic signalling between KSR Bengaluru (Majestic or City Railway Station) – Bengaluru Cantonment section in the period between Wednesday and Friday. This automatic signalling system will facilitate faster movement of all trains travelling on this section and will also facilitate the addition of newer services as part of the much-awaited full-fledged suburban rail system for Bengaluru.  Work on this section will lead to cancellation of 10 trains connecting Bengaluru to nearby towns like Kolar, Tumakuru and those to Whitefield. In addition, many interstate trains will be partially cancelled. Railway officials said that Thursday being a national holiday on account of Independence Day, will minimise inconvenience to passengers.  The works on this section are being taken up after Bengaluru Cantonment-Baiyyappanahalli stations became the first sector in the entire South Western Railway network to get automatic signalling systems in February. Subsequently, Bengaluru Cantonment-Whitefield section was also revamped with this automatic signalling mechanism. Here is the full list of train services affected:  Cancellation 1. Train No. 76505 / 76506 Bengaluru Cantonment – Kolar – Bengaluru Cantonment DEMU commencing the journey from both sides on 15.08.2019 & 16.08.2019 will be cancelled. 2. Train No. 76502 / 76501 Kolar – Bangarpet - Kolar DEMU commencing journey from both sides on 15.08.2019 & 16.08.2019 will be cancelled. 3. Train No. 76507 / 76508 Bengaluru Cantonment – Bangarpet – Bengaluru Cantonment DEMU commencing journey from both sides on 15.08.2019 & 16.08.2019 will be cancelled. 4. Train No. 76503 / 76504 Bangarpet – Kolar - Bangarpet DEMU commencing journey from both sides on 15.08.2019 & 16.08.2019 will be cancelled. 5. Train No. 66541 / 66542 Whitefield - KSR Bengaluru - Whitefield MEMU commencing journey from both sides on 15.08.2019 & 16.08.2019 will be cancelled. 6. Train No. 16522 / 16521 KSR Bengaluru – Bangarpet - KSR Bengaluru Express commencing journey from both sides on 15.08.2019 will be cancelled. 7. Train No. 06570 KSR Bengaluru - Baiyyappanahalli MEMU commencing journey from KSR Bengaluru on 15.08.2019 & 16.08.2019 will be cancelled. 8. Train No. 06594 Baiyyappanahalli - Whitefield MEMU commencing journey from Baiyyappanahalli on 15.08.2019 will be cancelled. 9. Train No. 06567 Whitefield - Baiyyappanahalli MEMU commencing journey from Whitefield on 15.08.2019 will be cancelled. 10. Train No. 56925 / 56926 KSR Bengaluru – Tumakuru – KSR Bengaluru Passenger commencing journey from both sides on 16.08.2019 will be cancelled. Partial Cancellation 1. Train No. 12509 Bengaluru Cantonment – Guwahati Express commencing journey of 14.08.2019 & 15.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Bengaluru Cantonment – Krishnarajapuram. 2. Train No. 12510 Guwahati - Bengaluru Cantonment Express commencing journey from Guwahati on 13.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Krishnarajapuram – Bengaluru Cantonment. 3. Train No. 12503 Bengaluru Cantonment – Agartala Express commencing journey of 16.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Bengaluru Cantonment – Krishnarajapuram. 4. Train No. 12504 Agartala - Bengaluru Cantonment Express commencing journey from Agartala on 13.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Krishnarajapuram – Bengaluru Cantonment. 5. Train No. 16593 Nanded – KSR Bengaluru Express commencing journey on 15.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Yelahanka – KSR Bengaluru. 6. Train No. 56264 KSR Bengaluru – Mysuru Passenger commencing journey on 15.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between KSR Bengaluru – Kengeri. Accordingly, this train will originate from Kengeri. 7. Train No. 56909 KSR Bengaluru – Hubballi/Hosapete – KSR Bengaluru Passenger commencing journey on 15.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between KSR Bengaluru – Yesvantpur. Accordingly, this train will originate from Yesvantpur. 8.  Train No. 56910 Hosapete – Hubballi/KSR Bengaluru Passenger commencing journey on15.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Yesvantpur - KSR Bengaluru. 9. Train No. 56913 KSR Bengaluru – Hubballi/Shivamogga Town Passenger commencing journey on 16.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between KSR Bengaluru -Yesvantpur. Accordingly, this train will originate from Yesvantpur. 10. Train No. 56914 Hubballi/Shivamogga Town – KSR Bengaluru Passenger commencing journey on 15.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Yesvantpur - KSR Bengaluru. 11. Train No. 56504 Vijayawada – Bengaluru Cantonment Passenger commencing journey on 14.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Yelahanka – Bengaluru Cantonment. 12. Train No. 56503 Bengaluru Cantonment – Vijayawada Passenger commencing journey on 15.08.2019 & 16.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Bengaluru Cantonment – Yelahanka. Accordingly, this train will originate from Yelahanka. 13. Train No. 66535 KSR Bengaluru – Ramanagaram MEMU commencing journey on 16.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between KSR Bengaluru - Kengeri. Accordingly, this train will originate from Kengeri. 14. Train No. 06576 Mysuru – KSR Bengaluru MEMU commencing journey on 15.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Kengeri – KSR Bengaluru.  15. Train No. 66512 Marikuppam – KSR Bengaluru DEMU commencing journey from Marikuppam on 15.08.2019 & 16.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Whitefield – KSR Bengaluru.  16. Train No. 66544 KSR Bengaluru – Kuppam MEMU commencing journey on 15.08.2019 & 16.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between KSR Bengaluru – Whitefield. 17. Train No. 66519 Marikuppam – KSR Bengaluru MEMU commencing journey on 16.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Krishnarajapuram – KSR Bengaluru. 18. Train No. 06594 Baiyyappanahalli – Whitefield MEMU commencing journey on 16.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Baiyyappanahalli - Krishnarajapuram. 19. Train No. 66529 Kuppam – KSR Bengaluru MEMU commencing journey on 15.08.2019 & 16.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Baiyyappanahalli – KSR Bengaluru. 20. Train No. 66530 KSR Bengaluru – Bangarpet MEMU commencing journey on 15.08.2019 & 16.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between KSR Bengaluru – Baiyyappanahalli. 21. Train No. 66531 Bangarpet – KSR Bengaluru MEMU commencing journey on 15.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Baiyyappanahalli – KSR Bengaluru. 22. Train No. 66532 KSR Bengaluru – Marikuppam MEMU commencing journey on 15.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between KSR Bengaluru – Baiyyappanahalli. 23. Train No. 66554 Mysuru – KSR Bengaluru MEMU commencing journey on 16.08.2019 will be partially cancelled between Kengeri – KSR Bengaluru.  Regulation 1. Train No. 16228 Talaguppa – Mysuru Express commencing journey from Talaguppa on 15.08.2019 will be regulated for 30 minutes at en route stations.  2. Train No. 12007 Chennai Central – Mysuru Express commencing journey from Chennai Central on 16.08.2019 will be regulated for 60 minutes at en route stations.  3. Train No. 56263 Mysuru – KSR Bengaluru Passenger commencing journey from Mysuru on 15.08.2019 will be regulated for 45 minutes at en route stations. 

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Health officials in Kerala, K’taka advise caution against diseases seen after floods

Health

The immediate concern, health officials say, is to provide clean and safe drinking water to prevent waterborne diseases.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

Image for representation.

As the rains and flood slowly begin to recede in parts of Karnataka and Kerala, health officials are now faced with the task of ensuring that diseases commonly seen following a deluge are contained.  “Our immediate concerns are with regards to waterborne diseases. Following such a natural disaster, it is vital that people have access to safe drinking water,” explains Shivamogga District Health Officer Dr Kiran. Health officials are taking precautions against these waterborne infections.  “Some of the most commonly seen diseases are shigella, gastroenteritis, typhoid and dysentery. To avoid these, we ask people to only consume boiled water. They can also chlorinate their water sources to reduce the chance of infection from these sources,” adds the doctor.  Waterborne diseases such as the ones mentioned above by Dr Kiran can manifest as a stomach bug causing diarrhea, nausea and vomiting and can potentially be fatal if not treated. In addition to boiling and chlorinating water sources as a precaution, halogen tablets can also be used to purify drinking water.  Dr Kiran also says that it is important to remove any solid waste which may have accumulated in and around the house, and urges people to use bleaching powder and phenyl to clean the premises as well. Elsewhere in Kerala’s Wayanad district, Dr Renuka R, the District Medical Officer (DMO) is busy ensuring that the relief camps set up in the district are running efficiently.  “There are almost 200 relief camps in Wayanad alone with about 32,000 people. We are working with several medical personnel and volunteers to tend to their needs. Now that the rains are just receding, we will start seeing more people presenting with infections; right now, our first priority remains in ensuring that people have safe drinking water sources,” she says.  While this is the immediate focus, after the first week, officials are concerned about other diseases such as vector borne ones. The most common are dengue, chikungunya, and other mosquito-borne diseases. “Stagnant water will cause breeding of mosquitoes and this in turn will lead to an increased risk of developing any of the mosquito-borne diseases,” says Dr Renuka. She notes that it is vital to clear any stagnant water and to take basic precautions against mosquito bites via using repellants and coils.  The biggest health concerns after this are other diseases such as leptospirosis (rat fever), which was prominent following the floods which plagued Kerala last year. This infection is caused by the bacteria Leptospira and is transmitted to humans via direct contact with body fluids (usually urine) of an infected animal. The symptoms people commonly present with are fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, muscle pain, and excessive tiredness.  “People should never venture into waterlogged areas as they might get exposed to leptospirosis. Infected animals shed the bacteria through urine and there is a high chance that this can come in contact with the water, thereby contaminating it. People who come in contact with this water are at risk from the infection,” says Dr Kiran. 

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Meet Venkatesh, the Karnataka boy who guided an ambulance across a flooded bridge

Floods

The ambulance was carrying six children and a woman’s dead body.

TNM Staff

There’s water for as far as the eye can see and in the distance, a boy can be seen stumbling but running, but there’s no indication of the bridge the boy is running on. At a distance behind the boy, a vehicle can be seen, following the boy’s lead. He helps direct the vehicle safely across the bridge, which is later identified to be an ambulance. The boy in the video was 12-year-old Venkatesh, a Class VI student in Government Primary School at Hirerayanakumpe village of Raichur district, The New Indian Express reported after tracing the boy to a rehabilitation centre at Shavantgera in Raichur.  Venkatesh was playing with a group of friends when an ambulance carrying six children and a woman's dead body to Machanoor village in Yadgir district found itself in a precarious position amid rising water levels.  The driver, Manju of Prasanna Ambulance services, called the group of boys to help guide him across the flooded area and Venkatesh volunteered. He guided the ambulance by wading through the water in an act that has since been hailed on social media.  “I really don’t know if what I did was an act of bravery or not. I just wanted to help the driver. The driver of the ambulance asked me whether there was a way to go into the stream and if he could drive the ambulance on the bridge. I showed the way. I do not know what is meant by help, bravery etc," said Venkatesh, speaking to The New Indian Express.  Venkatesh's act was broadcasted by several news channels and was a topic of discussion on social media in Karnataka.  Twitter users called for the boy to be recommended for the Shaurya award for bravery for risking his life to guide the ambulance.  Small in Stature, Big in Heart Salute this Boy from #Bagalkot, #Karnataka. He guided ambulance safely to cross the overflowing bridge risking his own life. #KarnatakaRain #KarnatakaFloods #FloodRelief @KiranKS @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/WbEen4Kae2— Shreekanth S Huddar (@ShreeSHuddar) August 11, 2019 The boy put his life in danger to lead the ambulance. Wow, just wow! I have no words to describe his courage!@mani1972ias Sir, request you to recommend him for Shaurya award this year or please bring it to the officials/CM who would do it.#KarnatakaFloods https://t.co/7qOZdC83Yu— Srujana Deva #StopHindiImposition (@SrujanaDeva) August 12, 2019 The heroes R created by the Situations.A brave boy walks the river to guide the Ambulance to show the road.Location: Krishna Nadi, Devadurga - Yadgir Rd of KA. He must be given a presidential award@CMofKarnataka @rashtrapatibhvn @narendramodi @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/rEusmwfIuv— Mahantesh Vakkund (@MahantVakkund) August 11, 2019 Waters receded in the northern Karnataka districts of Raichur, Belagavi and Bagalkot on Tuesday after rainfall reduced in the upper Krishna river basin in Maharashtra. In a relief to rescue groups involved, moderate rainfall has been predicted in the region for the next few days. One column of the army and two NDRF teams are currently carrying out rescue operations in Raichur district. More than 10,000 people have been rescued and evacuated in Raichur and Yadgir districts so far.

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Rebel Karnataka MLAs move Supreme Court seeking urgent hearing

Politics

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the rebel Karnataka MLAs to hand over a memo to the registrar for urgent listing of their plea.

TNM Staff

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the rebel Karnataka MLAs to hand over a memo to the registrar for urgent listing of their plea challenging their disqualification from the state Assembly. The rebel MLAs earlier moved the apex court seeking urgent listing of their plea.  The legislators have sought the court's directions to quash the former Assembly Speaker's decision to disqualify them from the House. On July 28, then state Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar disqualified the 14 rebel MLAs, rejecting the resignations tendered by them.  The 14 MLAs had remained absent from the House on July 23 when former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy put the confidence motion to vote.  Eleven Congress lawmakers were disqualified -- Pratap Gouda Patil (Maski), B.C. Patil (Hirekerur), Shivaram Hebbar (Yellapur), S.T. Someshekhar (Yeshwantapur), Byrati Basavraj (K.R. Puram), Anand Singh (Vijayanagar), R. Roshan Baig (Shivajinagar), Muniratna (R.R. Nagar), K. Sudhakar (Chikkaballapur), M.T.B. Nagaraj (Hoskote) and Shrimant Patil (Kagawad). The three Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) legislators who were disqualified are A.H. Vishwanath (Hunsur), Narayan Gowda (K.R. Pete) and K. Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout). The MLAs said that the actions of the then Speaker were in gross violation of the orders passed by the apex court, completely illegal and unconstitutional. The political scenario in Karnataka has recently undergone changes with Kumaraswamy losing the trust vote and BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa forming the current government. Earlier, on August 1, the 14 rebel MLAs had moved the Supreme Court against their disqualification. The rebels had requested the court to ask for the records of the proceedings before the then Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar, pertaining to the resignation and disqualification proceedings against them. They had further requested that an appropriate writ, order or direction be issued by the Supreme Court to quash and set aside the Speaker’s order dated July 28, 2019, which rejected the resignations of the rebels and disqualified them. The rebels said that they had tendered their resignations on July 6, prior to the Congress filing disqualification petitions against them, which was on July 12. All the disqualifications were made under Section 2 (1) (a) of the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution read with Article 19 (1) (2). With IANS inputs

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Karnataka floods: Death toll mounts to 54, rainfall continues in coastal areas

Floods

More than 6.9 lakh people have been evacuated in the last 10 days after rising water levels disrupted life in 21 districts in the state.

TNM Staff

Parts of Karnataka got some respite from heavy rainfall battering the state on Tuesday, even as the downpour is predicted to continue in coastal districts. As of Tuesday evening, the floods and landslides in the state had claimed 54 human lives and left at least 852 animals dead. 15 people are missing, and 100 of the 176 taluks in Karnataka were found to have been affected by the heavy rains. "With monsoon rainfall reducing across the coastal, central, south interior and northwest regions of the state, rescue and relief operations were conducted to restore normalcy in about 100 talukas (local bodies) in the state's 21 districts," a revenue official said. Moderate to heavy rainfall continued in coastal and Malnad regions of Karnataka with more rainfall predicted in this region in the next five days. Seven people are still missing after a landslide in Thora village in Kodagu district where search operations for survivors and bodies have entered the sixth day.  Water levels receded in Shivamogga city, where low-lying areas were flooded by the Tunga river. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa visited the flood-affected areas in his home district of Shivamogga, which lies in the Karnataka’s Malnad region. Theerthahalli, Hosanagara and Soraba taluks in the district were found to be affected by floods. Search and rescue As rainfall in the upper Krishna river basin in Maharashtra reduced, rescue operations intensified in northern Karnataka hit by floods. Rescue officials have speeded up evacuations in Belagavi, Bagalkot and Raichur districts. Four Indian Air Force helicopters were pressed into service to rescue people in the region. Read: Karnataka floods: 365 tourists rescued from island near heritage site Hampi  More than 6.9 lakh people have been evacuated in the last 10 days after rising water levels disrupted life in 21 districts. "Of the evacuated, 3.9 lakh have been sheltered to 1,151 relief camps, where food, drinking water, toilets and blankets are provided till they return to their homes," the revenue official said. 19 NDRF teams are currently carrying out rescue operations in Belagavi, Raichur, Bagalkot, Koppal, Shivamogga, Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts.   

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Karnataka floods: 365 tourists rescued from island near heritage site Hampi

Floods

People were stranded at Veerapur Gaddi near the famous heritage site Hampi and it included 100 tourists from overseas.

IANS

As many as 365 people, including 100 tourists from overseas, were rescued from Veerapur Gaddi near the famous Hampi heritage site in Karnataka, as heavy rains and flash floods left them stranded over the last 2-3 days, an official said on Tuesday. "The Indian Air Force (IAF) crew airlifted the marooned tourists in MI-17 helicopter and the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, in batches from a guest house near the Virupapura gadde (island) temple at the Hampi heritage site to the Vijayanagar airport between Hospet and Ballari towns in the state's northwest region over the last two days," the official said. Located on the south bank of the Tunga-Bhadra joint rivers, the Unesco recognised heritage site, dotted with ruins and monuments from the 14th century Vijayanagara empire, including the 7th century Virupaksha temple, was inundated after the authorities released excess water from the nearby dam. Hampi in the rich-mining district of Ballari is about 340 km northwest of Bengaluru. "As the 20 km road connectivity to the heritage site from Hospet town was flooded and damaged, the tourists had to be airlifted in turns as they were stranded in a state-run guest house near the temple on an island," said the official. With the southwest monsoon being active since August 1, heavy rains in the catchment areas of the Tunga and Bhadra rivers in the state's Malnad region filled the reservoir to the brim where the two rivers join near Hospet. "As 2.5-lakh cusecs of water were released from the TB dam since Saturday, the ancient monuments, temple complexes and the market places (bazars) were flooded when the overflowing water breached the banks and entered the ruins," recalled the official. The choppers were also used to airlift four National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel to safety as they were stuck on the rocks that were submerged by the swirling waters. Other historical places at Hampi, including Purndara mantapa (canopy) and Chola mantapa were submerged while Kampli fort and Anjaneyaswamy temple were flooded due to the TB river overflowing. Hundreds of tourists and pilgrims were also rescued by the state and national disaster response forces from flood-hit Pattadakal in the neighbouring Bagalkot district, which has an another Unesco recognised world heritage site for its 7th-8th century Hindu and Jain temples and monuments. State Tourism Secretary, T.K. Sunil Kumar, however, clarified that there was no damage to the monuments and temples at both the heritage sites due to inundation by the rain water or flooding due to overflowing of the river water. "Measures have been taken to clear the water from the heritage sites by pumping it from the complexes and making ways for reversing the flow back to the river or diverting it in open areas or fields," Kumar told reporters here. Pattadakal, about 440 km northwest of the state capital (Bengaluru) is one of the prime tourist and religious destinations in the southern state. "Pattadakal is a harmonious blend of architectural forms from the northern and southern India and an illustration of eclectic art. The Hindu temples are dedicated to Shiva, with elements of Vaishnavism and Shaktism fused," said Unesco for declaring it a world heritage site.

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With better dam management, could the north Karnataka floods have been mitigated?

Governance and Policy

Dam management officials seem to have let the reservoirs fill up in order to mitigate a future water crisis – except, this may have ended up worsening the current flooding.

Anna Isaac

Theja Ram

It was an agonising two-day wait for 37-year-old Mahantesh Baburao Uppari and his family of four, who were stranded on the rooftop for a full day before the NDRF personnel rescued them from their rooftop on August 7. Swirling waters of the Ghataprabha river had submerged his village of Melavanki in Karnataka’s Belagavi district on August 6, the day the sluice gates of the Hidkal Dam on the Ghataprabha river were thrown open. Like Melavanki, several villages across north Karnataka were hit by unprecedented rains and floods last week. The worst-hit district in north Karnataka, Belagavi, saw 13 deaths and over four lakh people were displaced from their homes. Three people were killed in Bagalakote, while 1.25 lakh people were evacuated.   As the rains abate and the waters slowly recede, the question is – could the floods have been mitigated in north Karnataka? Did the delay in opening the gates of the dams exacerbate the disaster in the region? Or did record rains in a short span of time give officials in the state little room to manoeuvre?     The rainfall For two weeks, Belagavi witnessed torrential rainfall. Between July 25 and July 31, the district recorded 86.1 mm rainfall against the normal of 41.2 mm. That’s 109% above normal. But it was the week between August 1 and August 7 that was destructive. The district, according to IMD figures, saw 292 mm of rainfall in one week, against the normal of 38.8 mm – a whopping 652% excess. Neighbouring Bagalakote also witnessed incessant rainfall, with the district receiving 17% excess rainfall between July 25 and 31. Like Belagavi, the following week saw massive rainfall with Bagalakote recording 41 mm of rainfall against the normal of 18.5 mm. In IMD’s words, that’s a large excess of 121%. And while these two weeks alone caused enough devastation in the districts and the region as a whole, data from the Met Department shows that since the onset of the monsoon, the rainfall had been consistently high across the weeks in the two districts. With the rains continuously lashing the two districts leading up to the crucial week of August 1 to 7, the waters in the three dams were fast filling up, even as the rivers were in spate. While the Krishna River and its tributaries Ghataprabha and Malaprabha flow through the Bagalakote district, in Belagavi much of the devastation was on account of the latter two rivers.  But with Karnataka reeling under its seventh consecutive drought, and with the Ghataprabha and Malaprabha rivers running dry for most of the last decade, officials in the state were letting the dams fill up to mitigate a future water crisis. They were frugal in releasing water from the Hidkal, Naviluteertha and the Alamatti dams, even during peak rainfall. And this, according to experts, was perhaps a reason why the flooding was worse than it should have been. Himanshu Thakkar from the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) argues that dam rules were violated as all three dams were nearly full even before the completion of the monsoon. Alamatti Dam Built over the Krishna River, the situation in Alamatti Dam, situated on the edge of Bagalakote and Bijapur districts, has been alarming.  The Krishna River, which originates in Maharashtra, flows through Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh before draining into the Bay of Bengal. The heavy rainfall in Maharashtra resulted in increased water inflow in the Krishna River. By July 26, the Almatti Dam, which is downstream, had reached a storage capacity of 94.94%.  But despite an inflow of 11,679 cusecs, the outflow was minimal at 128 cusecs on July 26. Two days later, on July 28, the total capacity touched 96.45%, and the Alamatti dam officials released 27,095 cusecs of water. Three days later, on July 31, the outflow rapidly increased to 1,76,297 cusecs, which was more than the inflow of 1,19,850 cusecs. With such a sudden increase in water release, the water level in the dam had dropped to 90.44% of its storage capacity, according to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) data. On August 4, as the situation turned grim in the northern parts of the state. Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa wrote to his counterpart in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, requesting him to regulate the outflow of water from the dams upstream of the Krishna River. The next day, the Maharashtra CM in turn requested Yediyurappa to release more water from the Alamatti Dam as the severe backlog of water was affecting villages in Maharashtra. On August 5, Alamatti dam officials told TNM that they increased the outflow to 2,90,117 cusecs, bringing down the storage capacity to 78%. However, the unabated rainfall led Alamatti dam officials to release 4.5 lakh cusecs of water just three days later, thereby inundating villages in Bagalakote, Bijapur and Raichur districts of Karnataka. As of August 8, the Alamatti dam had reduced its storage capacity to 67.53% to make room for the rapid inflow of water.   Since then, however, the outflow has continued to increase, touching 5.7 lakh cusecs against an inflow of 6.11 lakh as on August 13, breaking a 14-year record. In 2005, 4.45 lakh cusecs were released, which was the highest outflow until now.   And across several other dams in the state, a similar situation was seen. Naviluteertha Dam Data from KSNDMC shows that on July 31, the Naviluteertha Dam had reached 56.24% of its storage capacity. By August 5, the torrential rains ensured that the dam had reached a capacity of 78.84%, according to KSNDMC. The outflow, however, was marginal at 250 cusecs. The sluice gates of the Naviluteertha Dam were opened on August 6, with outflow suddenly shooting up to 50,000 cusecs.  Despite the gates being opened, the dam saw its total capacity hit 92.48% on August 8, shows CWC data. The same day, officials at the Naviluteertha Dam told TNM that outflow had been increased to over 1 lakh cusecs. Hidkal Dam Data from KSNDMC shows that on July 31, the Hidkal Dam on Ghataprabha River had reached 64.82% of its total storage capacity. But in just five days, with the intensity of the rain increasing, the dam had reached 92.07% of its capacity on August 5. However, the outflow continued to be marginal at 2,432 cusecs, against the inflow of 47,577 cusecs. It was only a day later, on August 6, that the sluice gates of the Hidkal dam were thrown open.  And in a span of one day, the outflow drastically jumped to 1,00,945 cusecs, according to officials monitoring the dam. Figures from the Central Water Commission (CWC) show that by August 8, Hidkal dam had reached 662.03 metres against the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 662.95 metres, giving dam operators just 0.92 m of leeway to manage the water level. The huge inflows and the uneven corresponding outflow of water from the dam resulted in massive inundation of villages downstream. ‘Dam management rules violated’ Himanshu Thakkar of SANDRP points out, “With the Ghataprabha, Malaprabha and Alamatti dams, the data clearly shows that the operators violated the rule curve.” A rule curve defines the procedure on how dam operators must approve filling up the reservoirs. “The dams have to be filled up in different stages and at different points of time. The division should be such that by the end of the monsoon, the dams must either reach full reservoir limit, or must be nearly full. Of course, if the rainfall is low, it is not possible to reach full storage capacity. But if it rains, the dams cannot be close to full before the monsoon ends,” he explains. He further alleges that dam operators exacerbated the floods in north Karnataka by not staggering the release, even after warnings were issued by the Met Department. "In addition, basic dam management rules were also violated. The IMD gives rainfall warning five days in advance. Even if the dam operators had started releasing water when the warning came in, they could have reduced the scale of the disaster. While releasing water, the operators must calculate the water carrying capacity of the river downstream. If excess water is released, obviously it will flood the catchment. Even though the IMD warning was there, and they knew the carrying capacity, water was not released from the dam on time, which is why there is a disaster,” he alleges.  What the dam officials say According to a senior official at the Hidkal Dam, neither the state government, nor the officers monitoring the dam expected large amounts of rainfall. “The last time it flooded, and not at this scale too, was in 2005,” the official says. Furthermore, the official says that the idea was to conserve water for the future, as opposed to preparing for a flood. He points out that since 2011, the Hidkal dam has never reached its full capacity and hence, the dam authorities had formulated the flood management and dam management plans with respect to conserving water as much as possible. This despite the warnings issued by the Indian Meteorological Department and the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre. “We had issued extremely heavy rainfall warning in the Krishna river basin on July 25 itself. Generally, our job is to inform the government and dam management authorities about the predictions we make. It is up to them to formulate the policy regarding outflow of water,” a senior hydrologist with KSNDMC tells TNM. However, officials at Hidkal and Naviluteertha dams allege that they had standing orders from the Karnataka government that the reservoir must fill up to 96% before releasing moderately large quantities of water. “The government approves the Dam Management Chart. We have to follow it. We cannot make decisions on releasing water willy-nilly. We will get suspended if we do not follow the chart,” an official with the Naviluteertha Dam tells TNM. The official also says that the government had asked them to refrain from releasing excess water in mid-July since the monsoon had not yet set in properly in several parts of the state. Although the rainfall was unprecedented in Belagavi and Bagalakote, could better management of the reservoirs have reduced the area of the floods? The Karnataka government’s stance TNM spoke to top officials in the Karnataka Department of Water Resources. According to its Principal Secretary Rakesh Singh, there was no prediction of such unprecedented rainfall and that the government had formulated plans based on the averages and probabilities of rainfall in the region. “This year has been an exception. Naviluteertha on Malaprabha was built in 1973. That’s just 46 years ago. It has filled up (completely) only six times in the last 46 years. This time was the worst. People who have understood this river say it doesn’t overflow. The rains started on July 28. There was no prediction of these rains, they were unprecedented,” Rakesh Singh says. Another official with the Department of Water Resources says that the first priority was drinking water, when the dam management plan was formulated in view of the recurring droughts in Karnataka. “The last few years have been drought. If we release water in the first cycle, the farmer goes for preparation of fields and for sowing. If we aren’t able to release water in the second, third or fourth cycle, then we have adversely impacted the farmer. We only release water when it reaches a particular level to ensure crop irrigation,” the official says. The official also suggested that the death toll in Belagavi was aggravated by the fact that residents have over the years encroached along the river. “If you see, most of the Krishna river basin’s catchment area has been encroached by people. They have their farm lands and homes so close to the dams and rivers. People don’t want to evacuate their houses until the last minute. They say, we know nature better than you. How can we convince such people? Besides, the Revenue Department does not take these encroachments seriously,” says the official.

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