Bengal gram and maize crops on 15 to 20 acres were washed away as the Malaprabha right bank canal breached at Kadadi village in the taluk on Tuesday night.
Residents said this was the result of water being let into the canal beyond its capacity. The canal had been constructed three decades ago, to provide drinking water to Ron and Nargund taluks.
Tanks are filled with water from the canal and the water is used for drinking and agriculture purposes. The canal was renovated two years ago at a cost of Rs 1,100 crore. With the breach in the canal, farmers are in trouble. So are the residents using the water for drinking purposes.
Water was released to the canal from the reservoir last week. Revenue officials said crops to the tune of Rs 2.5 lakh had been lost due to the canal breach.
Kashinath Shankrappa Gojanura and Jagadish Channappa Gojanura are the owners of the fields where the crops were washed away. Two farm ponds have been flooded following the canal breach, said Gurubasavaraja Kanaginahala, a farmer in the village.
Srinivas Kulkarni, the Gadag tahsildar, said the flow of water from the dam was stopped on Wednesday morning. Water rushed into four survey numbers of Kadadi village and that repair works were underway in the canal after the executive engineer of the right bank canal visited the place, the tahsildar said.