Belagavi: Continuous rainfall in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra has raised water levels in the Krishna River and its tributaries, the Vedaganga and Doodhganga, submerging five low-level bridges in Nippani and Chikodi taluks on Wednesday.The inundation has disrupted connectivity between several villages, prompting authorities to issue alerts and warn residents against crossing submerged bridges. Rainfall during the first week of July brought relief to farmers and residents after a prolonged dry spell. However, after a lull of more than a week, rain intensified over the past four to five days, leading to increased inflows into rivers and reservoirs across the region.The Krishna River has risen by about 5ft following heavy rainfall in its catchment areas. The Kallol-Yadur barrage and the Bhavanasoundatti-Manjari bridge across the Krishna River were submerged on Wednesday. Low-level bridges connecting Barawad-Kunnur, Karadaga-Bhoj and Bhoj-Shivapurwadi were also inundated.Meanwhile, the Rakaskop reservoir, one of the two main sources of drinking water for Belagavi city, has recorded encouraging inflows. Its water level has risen by about 2ft over the past three days and crossed 2,466ft on Wednesday.With the reservoir’s full level at 2,475.5ft, it remains about 9.5ft short of capacity. The improved inflows are expected to ease concerns over Belagavi’s drinking water supply, which had come under severe strain before the onset of the monsoon.
