All tourists stuck at Veerapapur Gadde, Hampi, were rescued

BENGALURU/HUBBALLI: After 500 tourists stranded at Virupapura Gadde (island) near World Heritage Site Hampi were rescued, the Karnataka government has initiated legal action against owners of hotels and resorts on the island for ignoring the flood warning.

“We’ll initiate action against owners of hotels and guest houses for putting the lives of guests at a risk,” said Koppal deputy commissioner C Sunil Kumar. He’s also contemplating recovering fees paid to NDRF teams from erring hoteliers. According to sources, a platoon of NDRF team is paid Rs 40,000 per day.

The hoteliers reportedly misled authorities on number of tourists stuck on the island. “They said there are around 200 tourists, including four or five foreigners. But there were over 450 tourists,” Sunil Kumar said. The administration vacated the entire island, including hoteliers and staff.

There are 16 authorised hotels on the island, including some illegal ones. Fearing losses, hoteliers had ignored the warning issued by the district administration and didn’t ask guests to leave.

About 544 tourists, including 27 foreigners, were stranded after flash floods triggered from Tungabhadra entered the island in Koppal district, about 350km from Bengaluru.

The administration had issued an alert on Saturday anticipating heavy discharge into the river from TB Dam in Hospet following heavy rain in Shivamogga district. But hoteliers neglected the alert and reportedly persuaded tourists to stay put, assuring them they would be taken to safer places in case there were floods.

“Since it was a weekend, they didn’t want to lose business. They were aware that floods would come when they admitted tourists into the island which is a grave mistake,” the DC said. The NDRF and other rescue teams had to brave inclement weather and swelling Tungabhadra river for two days to rescue tourists. Five rescuers even had a miraculous escape when their boat capsized and were swept away in the river.

Flood water recedes in Hampi

Life in historical Hampi town returned to normalcy on Tuesday with flood water receding to a great extent. The water level in Tungabhadra, which was in spate on Monday, also receded. Located on the south bank of the Tungabhadra, the Unesco recognised heritage site, dotted with ruins and monuments from the 14th century Vijayanagara empire, including the 7th century Virupaksha temple, was inundated after authorities released excess water from the nearby dam. But, police did not allow tourists to enter on Tuesday as a precautionary measure.

Rescuers rescued

In Bagalkot, five army personnel involved in rescue operations in Rugi village in Mudhol taluk were rescued by their colleagues. All five had got stranded in the flood-affected village past two days after their motorboat broke down due to technical reasons. District SP Lokesh Jagalasar said, they were rescued by a team using another boat.

