The temple town of Mantralayam, the holy place of Sri Raghavendra Swamy, was submerged in neck-deep waters of Tungabhadra river for almost 36 hours.
And when the water receded on Saturday, the town appeared like a grave yard. Hundreds of houses collapsed and several dead bodies were found on the streets and under the debris. Huge number of caracasses of cattle, dogs and pigs were found everywhere. The RTC bus stand posed a horrible situation, as several buses turned upside down. Even the police station was completely inundated. The famous Raghavendra Swamy mutt was completely devastated.
Hundreds of local people and pilgrims who were stranded atop the roof tops of three or four-storied buildings were crying for help, as there was no food and water for them for the last two days. Having no other option, people resorted to thefts and robberies in the town to get food and water for survival. And there was no trace of officials anywhere in the temple town!