How To Create Floods

Dams were built to control floods. They are now the triggers

- Shagun Kapil

THIS MAY SOUND ironic: a semi-arid, drought-prone district of Karnataka lost 71 human lives this year due to floods.

Belagavi, geographically a dry district, received 652 percent above normal rainfall between August 1 and 7 this year, the maximum in the state. Karnataka itself received 128 percent more than normal rainfall during this time. By August 5, all the dams in the district were brimming. Yet, operators at the Hidkal dam were releasing only 68.8 cubic meters per second (CUMECS) to the Ghataprabha river. As rains intensified on August 6, the dam started bulging, so the operators suddenly started releasing 833.3 CUMECS water. On August 9, it was increased to a whopping 2,858 CUMECS. At this point, the reservoir was releasing more water than it was getting.

Ditto Malaprabha dam, also in Belagavi district. Compared to just 446 CUMECS outflow till August 7, operators suddenly started releasing 2,295 CUMECS on August 8.

A brimming dam usually brings cheer to farmers who start planting paddy as they get ample water for their fields through canals. But the sudden gush of water, coinciding with excessive rainfall, drowned the unprepared district. Belagavi was the worst hit. At least 11 houses collapsed and more than 5,000 were partially damaged in its 331 affected villages. About 51,000 people had to be evacuated. The situation was no different across the state.

More than 40,000 houses in Karnataka got damaged and about 0.3 million people had to be evacuated from the low-lying areas. The Chief Minister’s Office informed that 136 important roads were damaged due to floods and landslides. “If we total all the districts,” said Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, “the loss would be ₹40,000-50,000 crore.”