Monuments at the Hampi UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka’s Ballari district were flooded with water as the sluice gates of the Tungabhadra Dam were let open on Sunday.

According to the Tungabhadra Board officials, 10 sluice gates were opened on Sunday morning, which flooded the regions along the river’s catchment area.

“Over 2 lakh cusecs water was released from the Tungabhadra Reservoir at Munirabad, Koppal district, on Sunday. Several areas in Hampi town including a few homes and the police station were also flooded. We had given everyone ample warning,” an official with the Tungabhadra Board in Hospet said.

According to Ballari Deputy Commissioner SS Nakul, the Purandara Mantapa, located near the Vittala Temple, near the banks of the Tungabhadra river, was half submerged. Other heritage monuments including the Kodandarama Temple, Hampi Salu Mantapa Mrkandeshwara Temple, Nava Brindavana Gadde and Jaina Mantapa were also submerged in water.

The floodwater entered the Hampi Traffic Police Station too, which was severely waterlogged. The district administration asked residents living along the river banks to move to safer places on Saturday. Although, 10 sluice gates were opened in the morning, all 33 were thrown open following heavy inflow in the wake of incessant rains in Koppal district.

The NDRF and Fire & Emergency Services personnel rushed to the rescue of 60 tourists who were stranded at various temples in Hampi. Several tourists were also stranded at the island in Hampi on Sunday. However, locals mounted coracles and rescued the tourists.

“We're stuck on the hippie island. We were not aware that a flood warning had been issued. There were rescue missions but two coracles were there and each carried 3 to 4 people at once, even without life jackets it was scary. But around 40 people were rescued by the evening,” said Priyanka, a tourist, who was stranded at the island.

Hampi was the last capital of the Vijayanagara rulers. Its rulers built temples and palaces, which have been sites of admiration ever since. Constructed between the 14th and 16th centuries, the region was conquered and pillaged by the Deccan confederacy in 1565. Hampi was left in ruins six months after the conquest. A popular tourist attraction in Karnataka, Hampi was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

On Saturday, other heritage monuments in Bagalakote’s Aihole and Pattadakal were also submerged due to the heavy rainfall, which had led to officials throwing open the gates of the Naviluteertha Dam.