The Indian Air Force (IAF) crew rescued tourists in MI-17 helicopter and the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, tourists were stuck at a guest house near the Virupapura gadde (island) temple at the Hampi heritage site to the Vijayanagar airport, the official said.
A total of 365 tourists, as well as a hundred NRIs, were reclaimed from the world-famous Hampi heritage web site, as serious rains and flash floods stranded them over the last 2-3 days.
Located on the south bank of the Tunga-Bhadra joint rivers, the United Nations agency recognized heritage web site, dotted with ruins and monuments from the fourteenth century Vijayanagara empire, as well as the 7th-century Virupaksha temple, was inundated when the authorities discharged excess water from the near dam.
“As the twenty-kilometre road property to the heritage web site from Hospet city was flooded and broken, the tourists had to be airlifted in turns as they were stranded AN exceedingly|in a very} state-run guest house close to the temple on an island,” aforementioned the official.
With the southwest monsoon being active since Lammas Day, serious rains within the construction areas of the Tunga and Bhadra rivers within the state’s Malnad region stuffed the reservoir to the brim wherever the 2 rivers be a part of close to Hospet.
“As 2.5-lakh cusecs of water were discharged from the TB dam since Saturday, the traditional monuments, temple complexes and therefore the market places (bazaars) were flooded once the overflowing water broke the banks and entered the ruins,” recalled the official.
The choppers were conjointly won’t to airlift four National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel to safety as they were stuck on the rocks that were submerged by the whirling waters.
Other historical places at Hampi, as well as Purndara mandapa (canopy) and Chola mandapa, were submerged whereas Kampli fort and Anjaneyaswamy temple was flooded because of the TB stream overflowing.
Hundreds of tourists and pilgrims were conjointly reclaimed by the state and national disaster response forces from flood-hit Pattadakal within the neighbouring Bagalkot district, that has Associate in Nursing another international organization instructional, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) recognized world heritage web site for its 7th-8th century Hindu and Jainist temples and monuments.
State business enterprise Secretary, T.K. Sunil Kumar, however, processed that there was no harm to the monuments and temples at each the heritage sites because of inundation by the freshwater or flooding because of overflowing of the stream water.
“Measures are taken to clear the water from the heritage sites by pumping it from the complexes and creating ways in which for reversing the flow back to the stream or entertaining it in open areas or fields,” Kumar told reporters.
