A 65-year-old farmer named Siddaraya Doddarama was swept away by the Markandeya river in Belagavi when returning home from his field after sowing. According to a report in The Hindu, he slipped when he went to wash his hands in the river.
The report further stated that the family members and neighbors called the police to report that he was missing and the police later sent a search party to his village. They had to abandon the search after sunset with the water level increasing. Assistant Commissioner, Ravindra Karilingannanavar said that the search was restored on Saturday according to The Hindu.
Many districts of Karnataka are facing severe rains. According to the Times of India, the Government has begun preparations by stationing National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force for rescue and relief operation in flood prone districts such as Bagalkot, Yadgir, Belagavi, Mysuru and Kodagu. The district administrations according to the report have been urging famers in low lying areas to move to safer zones.
According to the TOI report, the authorities at the Kabini reservoir have issued flood alerts to residents downstream of the dam in HD Kote of Mysuru and have asked the residents to move to safer locations. Nearly 5,000 cusecs of water had been released since Saturday from the dam.
According to The Hindu, officers of the irrigation department said that the inflow into the Lal Bahadur Shastri reservoir created by the Almatti Dam over the Krishna River had increased to 1.18 lakh cusecs. The Outflow maintained was 451 cusecs.
The Hindu reported that the Uchagaon-Gojaga road had been submerged and nearly around 12 bridges had been submerged in Belagavi. According to The Hindu, the Deputy Commissioner of Belagavi, MG Hiremath said that all steps were being taken by the district administration to face the heavy rains and the resulting floods.