Fadnavis dials Yediyurappa on flood situation

Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis called upon Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa, requesting him to increase the discharge of water from the Almatti dam in the southern state so as to mitigate the flood situation in Kolhapur and Sangli districts.

Kolhapur is witnessing the worst flood in the past three decades. On Monday, Mr Yediyurappa had written  to Mr Fadnavis to regulate the flood discharge from the Koyna reservoir.

According to the Karnataka government, the release from the Ko-yna reservoir is causing an alarming situation in the districts of Belagavi, Vijayapura, Raichur, Kalburgi and Yadgir in his state. A senior official from the chief minister’s office (CMO) said that the state has urged the Karnataka government to increase the discharge from the Almatti dam to ease flooding in Sangli.

He said, “Mr Fadnavis has spoken with Mr Yediyurappa and requested him on the Almatti discharge. He assured of positive actions.”

“Karnataka was releasing water from the dam at 3 lakh cusecs, and after chief minister's request, they started discharging 4.25 lakh cusecs of water. It has helped a lot so far. But the concern right now is continuous rainfall in the catchment area,” an official said.

Mr Fadnavis also spoke to Union defence minister Rajnath Singh for better coordination during the rescue operation.