Officials have issued a caution to farmers and fishermen against entering the Krishna River or its tributaries due to increasing water levels in Belgaum and Bagalkot districts.
On Thursday, the Lal Bahadur Shashtri reservoir (Almatti dam) in Bagalkot district released a flow of 72,286 cusecs into the Krishna River. To prevent flooding in the surrounding areas, authorities raised the outflow to more than 65,480 cusecs.
Heavy rainfall persisted in parts of Maharashtra and Belgaum district on Thursday. Officials reported that Maharashtra maintained a steady water release of 42,000 cusecs due to the Koyna dam holding around 40% of its total capacity without increasing outflow into Karnataka. The Almatti dam currently holds 99 tmcft of water, including 17 tmcft of dead storage, compared to its full reservoir capacity of 123 tmcft.
In Belgaum district, the Raja Lakhamagouda dam at Hidkal has 29 tmcft of water, with a gross capacity of 51 tmcft including 2 tmcft of dead storage. It recorded an inflow of 13,829 cusecs and outflow of 426 cusecs. The Navilu Teertha dam on the Malaprabha in Belgaum district holds 15 tmcft of water against its full capacity of 37 tmcft. It experienced an inflow of 6,247 cusecs and outflow of 194 cusecs.
