A temple was among those flooded at the World Heritage Site of Hampi on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: SRIDHAR KAVALI
A few monuments at the World Heritage Site of Hampi in Vijayanagara district were flooded on Thursday evening, as the discharge from the Tungabhadra Reservoir was increased to nearly 1.80 lakh cusecs.
Purandara Mantapa, the bathing spot Chakrateertha, the canal of the Vijayanagara Empire, Sugrivaโs cave, Sita Seragu, sculptures depicting the 10 incarnations of Vishnu, Koti Linga, Rama Lakshmana Temple, the Chandramouleshwar Temple, the 64-pillar Mantapa (the burial site of Vijayanagara emperor Krishnadevaraya) and Nava Brindavan, the burial site of Madhwa saints, were among the monuments that were heavily flooded.
โAs of now, there is no negative impact of floods on any temples or monuments in Hampi. Our team is on the ground closely monitoring the situation,โ Superintending Archaeologist, Hampi Circle of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Nikhil Das told The Hindu.
The Tungabhadra river is in spate due to heavy rainfall in its catchment area, especially in the Sahyadri range.
Upstream Tunga and Bhadra dams in Shivamogga district are already full and are discharging excess water into the Tunga and Bhadra rivers, respectively.
As a result, the Tungabhadra Reservoir in Hosapete received heavy inflow on Thursday.
A view of the excess water being discharged from Tungabhadra reservoir on August 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
As per information provided by the authorities, the inflow into the reservoir increased from 52,414 cusecs at 7 a.m. on Wednesday to 1,98,430 cusecs at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
The water level in the reservoir stands at 1,631.02 ft with storage of 97.945 tmcft against a full reservoir level of 1,633 ft with a total storage capacity of 105.788 tmcft.
The release of excess water from the reservoir was gradually increased from 63,419 cusecs after 7 a.m. on Wednesday to 1,79,936 cusecs by 7 p.m. on Thursday.
The discharge of excess water has flooded the farmlands along the riverbanks downstream apart from flooding the historical monuments in Hampi.
Vast agricultural fields with standing crops such as paddy, sugarcane, jowar and maize at Hirebannimatti, Makarabbi, Byala Hunsi, Navali, Kombali and other villages are heavily flooded.
The Kampli Fort in Ballari district was also flooded by the Tungabhadra waters on Thursday evening. Hole Anjaneya Temple, Mahakali Temple and Venkataramana Temple were among the other monuments that have been inundated.
As many as four families were shifted to safety in Kuruvatti village in Ballari district as their houses were flooded.
