Overflowing Shimsha inundates low-lying areas

November 06, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:32 am IST - Mandya:

The busy Bengaluru-Mysuru highway inundated at Maddur in Mandya district.

The busy Bengaluru-Mysuru highway inundated at Maddur in Mandya district.

Shimsha river, a tributary of the Cauvery, crossed the danger mark on Thursday and inundated low-lying areas, including the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, in Maddur.

The river is the lifeline of hundreds of villages in Tumakuru, Mandya, and Chamarajanagar districts. However, it had dried up because of illegal sand extraction and scanty rainfall.

The catchment areas of the Shimsha, which originates in the southern part of Devarayanadurga hill in Tumakuru district, have been witnessing heavy to very heavy rainfall for the past three days. Consequently, the water-level in the Shimsha, as well as a few lakes along the river, had risen.

After 30 years

The river crossed the danger mark around 3 a.m. on Thursday and inundated some low-lying areas along its course in Maddur, Revenue officials said. It was stated that the water entered Maddur from both Shimsha river and the Kolli lake.

According to them, the river had not crossed this mark in the last three decades.

Three lakes — Deshahalli, Hodaghatta and Madduru Kolli — have filled up to the brim and there is heavy discharge of water since Wednesday night. The river is also receiving water from several streams and other sources along its course from Devarayanadurga hill to Maddur, a senior Revenue official told The Hindu.

Owing to the overflow, the Kolli Bridge (Shimsha Bridge) was submerged on the Bengaluru–Mysuru highway, leading to floods in several areas in the vicinity of Kolli Bridge and Shivapura.

There was a 3-ft water on the highway near Kolli Circle early on Thursday, Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, Mandya Superintendent of Police , said.

Owing to the flooding, the traffic between Bengaluru and Mysuru was paralysed for some time. The situation worsened around 7 a.m., when thousands of people rushed to Kolli Bridge to watch the overflowing river.

Mr. Borase and other officials also rushed to the spot and controlled the people to pave way for the movement of hundreds of vehicles stranded on both sides of the highway. Normality was restored by about 8.30 a.m. and the water-level receded by 10.30 a.m.

There were rumours that at least three men, four bullocks, and two carts had been washed away in the floodwaters.

However, the police later found the rumours false.

The district administration has decided to arrange for round-the-clock security at Kolli bridge over the next three days and to alert the people against venturing into the river to prevent any untoward incidents.

Shimsha river originates in Tumakuru district and flows for about 221 km, before joining the Cauvery in Mandya.

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