Tungabhadra above danger level

ANANTAPUR: Here is a good news for farmers irrigating lands under the Tungabhadra dam. The reservoir, which is the only source of drinking and irrigation water as of now,  is brimming following copious rainfall in the upstream areas.Following heavy rain in Ugumbe, Udipi, Shimoga and other areas in Karnataka,  the inflows into the Tungabhadra reservoir has increased. With increasing levels of water in the dam, 10 out of 20 gates of the project were lifted by one and half feet on Sunday evening to release water downstream.While the Full Reservoir Level ( FRL)  is 1,633 ft,  the water level was 1,632.5 feet on Sunday evening and the officials as a precautionary measure released waters. With 55,000 cusecs of water released, Tungabhadra river  is flowing above danger level in Hampi resulting in inundation of nearby ancient temples and an alert were sounded for people living in low lying areas.Purandara Dasa matam in Hampi got inundated, so was Puratham bridge and Rama Lakshmana temple road. According to officials, the inflow into reservoir was 67,000 cusecs while outflow was 55,000 cusecs.As on Monday, Tungabhadra waters  reached Mantralayam in Kurnool district and the water level in the river was reported to be 307.400 metres.Officials said  if the water levels reached 311 metres then it will be considered as danger level. They, however, alerted the people living along the river course, downstream to be cautious.The temporary bridge at Madhavaram near Mantralayam wasbreached  affecting the traffic between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.