Monsoon’s final roar

Strap: K’taka reels under heavy rains, rivers overflow, roads cut off, farmers lose crops & flood warnings persist—are these the final monsoon showers?

Blurb:

For Bangalore, the IMD forecasts a generally cloudy sky with light rain over the next 24–48 hours, with winds at 40-50 kmph. Temperatures are expected to hover between 27–28°C maximum and 19–20°C minimum, offering little respite from the persistent downpours.

OB Bureau

For Ramesh Patil, a farmer in Bidar district, the rains that drenched Karnataka mid-week were more than a mere inconvenience—they were a catastrophe. His fields, once lush with toor dal, black gram, and soybean, now lie waterlogged and ruined. Like many of his neighbours, he has lost both crops and cattle, with scant relief in sight.

“Potholes in Bangalore make headlines, but the plight of farmers like us is ignored,” he laments, echoing the calls of BJP MLA Sharanu Salagar, who demanded at least Rs 25,000 relief per farmer for crop losses and insurance claims that have yet to be disbursed.

Across the state, incessant rainfall battered Karnataka, damaging crops, flooding farmlands, and disrupting road connectivity. Districts including Dharwad, Gadag, Davangere, Haveri, and Uttara Kannada were particularly hard-hit, prompting precautionary evacuations and relief measures. Villagers in low-lying areas were moved to temporary shelters as officials braced for worsening conditions.

The heavy inflows from upstream Maharashtra have raised water levels in the Krishna River, with the release of 1.60 lakh cusecs from the Narayanpur reservoir submerging the Sheelhalli bridge and cutting off road access.

Riverbank villages, including Kaddaragaddi, Yarigodi, and Hanchinal, are now under a “flood threat,” forcing residents to take a 45-km detour via Jaladurga to reach the taluk headquarters. Videos surfaced on social media showing men washing bikes on the submerged bridge, despite repeated warnings from authorities not to enter the swollen river, which is flowing above the ‘danger’ mark.

The Western Ghats in Maharashtra have contributed to the deluge, with both the Krishna and Bhima rivers under threat from large water releases. To manage inflows, officials have opened all 30 gates of the Basavasagar dam and 17 gates of the Gurusanagi Barrage in Yadgir district.

Meanwhile, in Belagavi, the Malaprabha river basin witnessed perilous conditions as a biker narrowly escaped being swept away while attempting to cross a flooded bridge.

The rains have not spared the state’s cultural sites either. In Bidar, water entered the sanctum of the Anantha Padmanabha temple, highlighting the severity of the rainfall. Salagar told the Assembly that over 1.21 lakh hectares of crops have been destroyed, affecting not just livelihoods but also food security in the region.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast continued widespread rainfall over the next week. Heavy showers are expected in coastal and northern interior districts, including Udupi, Uttara Kannada, and Belagavi, with winds reaching 30-40 kmph.

Other northern districts such as Bagalkot, Bidar, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Yadgir, and Dharwad may receive light to moderate rain, while southern districts including Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Mysuru, Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Hassan, and Mandya are also likely to witness light to moderate rainfall.

For Banglore, the IMD forecasts a generally cloudy sky with light rain over the next 24–48 hours, with winds at 40-50 kmph. Temperatures are expected to hover between 27–28°C maximum and 19–20°C minimum, offering little respite from the persistent downpours.

Reservoir levels across Karnataka reflect the strain on the state’s water management infrastructure. As of Wednesday, water storage stood at 123.08 TMC in Almatti dam (full capacity), 76.91 TMC in Tungabhadra (capacity 105.79 TMC), 47.73 TMC in KRS (capacity 49.45 TMC), and 33.31 TMC in Narayanapura (full capacity), according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre. With most major reservoirs nearing capacity, officials face the dual challenge of managing inflows and safeguarding lives in flood-prone areas.

The relentless rainfall has underscored the vulnerability of both farmers and urban dwellers, revealing the limitations of infrastructure and emergency preparedness. While authorities scramble to manage overflowing rivers, submerged bridges, and threatened villages, farmers wait anxiously for relief, insurance payouts, and a chance to reclaim their livelihoods.

As the monsoon continues unabated, Karnataka’s residents brace for another week of heavy showers, hoping that timely government intervention, coupled with community resilience, will prevent further tragedy. The coming days will test not only the state’s disaster management machinery but also the endurance and fortitude of its people who live in the shadow of swollen rivers and battered fields.