National Disaster Relief Force rescues 18 in Raichur

Kalaburagi: With the water level rising sharply in the Krishna river following heavy discharge from  Basavasagara Reservoir at Narayanapura, the Raichur district administration has sought the assistance of the military to undertake relief and rescue measures.

According to Deputy Commissioner B Sharath, on Tuesday, a battalion of 100 military personnel from Hyderabad has arrived at Raichur. “They will be entrusted the responsibility of undertaking relief and rescue operations in the villages affected by the flood waters,” Mr Sharath said.

This battalion is in addition to the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) team that has already been deployed in Raichur and neighbouring Yadgir districts.

With the authorities increasing the water discharge from Basavasagara dam to four lakh cusec cusec at 4 pm on Tuesday, the threat of further submergence of bridges and entry of water into the border villages has increased. Since Monday evening, the total discharge from the reservoir stood at 3.20 lakh cusecs.

Already the direct road connectivity between Raichur and Kalaburagi has been severed since Sunday due to the submergence of the Huvina Hadagali bridge.  As vehicles have been diverted via Tintini bridge in Devadurga taluk, the distance has increased by around 45 km between the two major cities. Another bridge – Sheelahalli bridge – in Lingasugur taluk has been cut off since Friday due to the flood waters.

Meanwhile NDRF personnel in association with the police and revenue authorities rescued  18 people from Myadaragadde island in Devadurga taluk. The authorities fear that the connectivity between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh near Raichur would be cut off if the water level in the Krishna river rises further.