Even as the rains eased, Kalaburagi district found itself grappling with unrelenting floods on Sunday. The landscape was a grim tableau of displaced families huddled in relief camps, vital bridges swallowed by swirling waters, and despairing farmers watching their precious fields vanish beneath the deluge.
Thousands have been forced to flee their homes in low-lying areas across Afzalpur, Jewargi, Chittapur, Kalagi, and Sedam taluks. In response, the local administration has swiftly established 53 care centers, providing shelter to over 6,664 individuals, including approximately 2,270 women and 1,344 children.
Lifelines Severed: Connectivity Crippled by Floodwaters
The floodwaters have not only displaced people but have also shattered critical transport networks. Several key bridges now lie submerged, severing access to entire communities. The Chandrampalli causeway in Chincholi, for instance, disappeared beneath the waters after reservoir gates were opened, isolating a dozen villages. Similarly, the Bhima bridge near Jewargi was closed to heavy traffic on Saturday as water levels soared to dangerous heights. Further downstream, the powerful convergence of the Bhima and Amarja rivers utterly marooned Ganagapur in Afzalpur taluk, transforming the pilgrim town into an island.
An old woman sits outside her partially submerged house in Saradagi village, Kalaburagi district, on Sunday, highlighting the personal toll of the floods. | Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI
Even spiritual life has been impacted; the revered Dattatreya temple in Ganagapur, a magnet for devotees from across Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, was forced to suspend its daily rituals. Floodwaters breached the temple complex, submerging approach roads and leaving priests with no choice but to turn away weekend pilgrims.
Maharashtra’s Reservoir Discharges Intensify Pressure
The primary cause of this devastating deluge is the immense volume of water being released from Maharashtra’s reservoirs. The Sina reservoir alone discharged a staggering 2.7 lakh cusecs, supplemented by Ujjani (45,000 cusecs), Veer (30,000 cusecs), and Bori (5,000 cusecs). On Saturday, Ujjani authorities increased their spillway discharge to 1,00,000 cusecs, bringing the total combined release into the Bhima river to nearly 4 lakh cusecs, which placed immense pressure on the Sonna barrage in Afzalpur taluk.
The Central Water Commission (CWC) issued a stark warning on Sunday, declaring both the Bhima and Kagina rivers to be in a “severe situation.” At the Deongaon bridge, the Bhima river registered at 405.15 meters, a worrying 0.65 meters above its danger level. Similarly, the Kagina at Malkhed stood at 400.72 meters, a significant 1.72 meters above the critical mark. While levels began to show a slight falling trend, continued upstream inflows mean the rivers are expected to remain dangerously swollen for several more days.
By Sunday evening, discharge from Maharashtra’s reservoirs had decreased to 1.84 lakh cusecs (1.39 lakh from Sina and 40,000 from Ujjani). The Kalaburagi administration confirmed that outflows from the Sonna barrage were maintained at 2.80 lakh cusecs, and from Bennethora at 12,000 cusecs, but cautioned that these figures might be adjusted based on incoming water levels.
Unprecedented Rainfall Worsens Crisis
Compounding the reservoir discharges is the exceptionally high local rainfall. Kalaburagi has recorded 901 mm of rain between January and September 25 this year, a staggering 47% above its normal average of 614 mm. August alone saw nearly 70% more rain than usual, and the first three weeks of September were 39% above average. In the week leading up to the flood’s peak, rainfall was an alarming 85% higher than typical. Joint Director of Agriculture, Samad Patel, lamented, “This is one of the wettest monsoons in recent memory, and with our black soil retaining water for weeks, the damage to crops is devastating.”
Vast stretches of farmland have been destroyed, with red gram, cotton, green gram, and black gram crops particularly ravaged. Preliminary damage assessments estimate losses across 1.05 lakh hectares, although local farmers fear the actual figure could be more than double this amount.
Impact on Social and Educational Survey
Even critical government initiatives are feeling the pinch of the disaster. The State’s Social and Educational Survey has been brought to a grinding halt, as enumerators are unable to access many of the cut-off villages. A teacher in Chittapur explained the challenge: “We are asked to finish during school holidays, but with bridges underwater, it is simply impossible.” Local schools, too, remain closed under an orange alert, further disrupting the lives of students and educators.