Rains continue to cause havoc in state

Rains continued to lash several parts of the state on Thursday. Belagavi city and its surroundings received light showers on Wednesday night and in the early hours of Thursday.

Incessant rainfall for the past two days in parts of Telangana and north Karnataka led to cancellation of several trains on the Bidar-Parli route on Thursday, as rainwater flooded the tracks, washing away concrete beneath them. The incident was reported around 10 to 15 km from Vikarabad station in Telangana on Tuesday night.

According to railway sources, the Yeshwantpur-Bidar train was terminated at the Vikarabad station and passengers bound for Bidar were ferried in Telangana buses for free.

The Bengaluru-Nanded link express via Bidar was also short-terminated at Vikarabad. It was rerouted from Secunderabad to Nanded via Nizamabad. Passengers bound for Bidar were ferried in buses.

Due to heavy rain in the past 36 hours, streams overflowed at several places, causing inconvenience to the people. Prakash Manhari, 35, was washed away in overflowing stream water near Udbyal village in Humnabad taluk on Tuesday night.

Heavy rains continued to lash Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts for the third consecutive day on Thursday. Following heavy rains, River Kagina in the district is flowing above the danger mark. As much as 6,500 cusecs of water has been released from Nagarala dam across River Mullamari in the taluk.

Rains continued to lash Surapur and Shahpur taluks in Yadgir district and disrupted vehicular movement. The rains have revived the hopes of tur growers in the district.

Incessant rains washed away the asphalt on the roads at Badami town in Bagalkot district. The roads were inundated, causing inconvenience to the people. Mini waterfalls in the region have regained their glory. Roads leading to Gadag, Bagalkot and Ramadurg have been completely damaged.

Drizzling has been reported in Koppal and Raichur districts, starting from Wednesday night.

Rains continued to lash Uttara Kannada district, including Karwar, Bhatkal, Honnavar, Kumta, Ankola, Mundgod and Siddapur.

Moderate to heavy rains continued to lash several parts of Shivamogga district.
Shivamogga, Bhadravathi, Thirthahalli, Hosanagar, Sagar received rains intermittently throughout the day. Heavy rains lashed Shivamogga for about 30 minutes from 3 pm. Water level in Linganamakki dam rose to 1,794.75 feet against the maximum level of 1,819 feet. The inflow of water was 2,575 cusecs.

Call it a miracle, divine intervention or whatever, Bhagamandala in Madikeri taluk received heavy rain, following the conclusion of five-day ‘parjanya varuna yaga’ on Thursday. The yaga was performed near the Bhagandeshwara Temple to appease the rain god.

The yaga was disrupted for a while, as some among the locals tried to stop it. They were fearing that in the event of excess rain, it may lead to fungus in coffee and pepper plantations. The police mediated among both the parties and facilitated the resumption of the religious ritual.

Above normal rain in North Karnataka
Parts of Bidar district in North Karnataka received the highest rains in the state in the last 24 hours.

Due to the low pressure over west-central Bay of Bengal three days ago, a majority of the districts in north interior Karnataka, except Haveri, have received heavy rain.
The low pressure has moved to the east-central Bay of Bengal, leading to heavy rain in Ballari, which borders Andhra Pradesh.

According to S S M Gavaskar, scientist at the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, rains would subside in a day in North Karnataka districts.

While Bidar received 73 mm of rains against the normal of 6 mm (1,225% more), Koppal received 19 mm of rains against the normal of 3 mm (591% more). In case of Raichur, it was 38 mm against the normal of 6 mm and in Bagalkot, it was 26 mm against 4 mm normal rains. In all, the average rain in north interior Karnataka was 24 mm against the normal of 4 mm.