Road Closed: Heavy rains affect traffic in Karnataka Heavy rains across Karnataka have caused major disruptions, with several major roads becoming impassable. The Chandika river at Yanada, a tributary of the Aghanashini, is in spate, flooding the Katgala road and closing National Highway 766E between Kumta and Sirsi. This has severely disrupted travel between the hilly areas and the coast, leaving many travellers stranded and unable to return to their native places. Moreover, landslides have made the situation worse. One such incident occurred on the Honnawara-Sagar road and a sudden landslide at Varnakeri village completely blocked the Karwar-Shivamogga-Bengaluru road. The Gundabala river is also in spate, increasing the chances of flooding. Accordingly, officials advise against travelling to Malenadu and plains via Kumta, Honnawara and Bhatkal.
Travel on the coastal route is recommended to be postponed for a few days, especially on the Ankola-Shirasi route, where the river flows above dangerous levels near Dongri in Ankola. Additionally, the Kumta-Shirasi, Honnavara-Sagar and Ankola-Shirasi routes are closed due to adverse weather conditions. The region is also facing network problems, a common problem in the densely forested Western Ghats region. Keeping these challenges in mind, drivers are encouraged to delay or shorten their trips. Additionally, heavy rains continued in the Malnad region on Wednesday. Several rivers, including the Tunga, Bhadra, Sharavati and Aghanashini, are receiving good inflows into dams as water levels have risen. Shivamogga district received an average of 196 mm of rain on Wednesday. The Tunga and Bhadra reservoirs recorded a sharp increase in inflows in the last 24 hours as their catchment areas in Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru districts received abundant rainfall.
