Monsoon makes a strong comeback in parts of state

The monsoon made a strong comeback with heavy rains across the state on Wednesday. Incessant rain, which started lashing Kalaburagi city and district on Tuesday morning, continued on Wednesday too. The district is likely to receive rainfall for two more days due to the depression in the Bay of Bengal.

The rainfall has turned out to be a blessing for the tur crop which was on the verge of withering in the district due to a long dry spell. Cotton growers are also happy. These rains are very useful for the standing kharif crops, said joint director of agriculture Jilani Mokashi.

This year, tur has been cultivated on 3.84 lakh hectares, which is 20,000 hectares more than the previous year. Following the rains, a bumper tur crop can be expected this time, he added. Belagavi city and surrounding areas received mild showers.

Showers lashed different parts of Belagavi city. Athani and Saundatti too received overnight showers, but there were no rains during the day on Wednesday. In the past 24 hours, Bidar district received widespread rainfall, bringing much relief to farmers and citizens.

The rain comes in handy for standing crops such as soyabean and red gram. It also paves the way for taking up the sowing of rabi crops, which starts in the first week of October. Sources in the agriculture department said due to a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal, the formation of clouds was good, resulting in rain.

Heavy rains lashed the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad and the surrounding areas. In Dharwad, intermittent rains lashed for more than two hours in the afternoon and the evening. The showers continued till late in the night.

Moderate to heavy rains lashed several parts of Shivamogga district. Shivamogga, Bhadravathi, Thirthahalli, Hosanagar and Sagar received intermittent rains throughout the day. Thirthahalli too received good spell of rains. The water level in Linganamakki dam rose to 1,794.65 feet against the maximum level of 1,819 feet. The inflow of water was 2,640 cusecs.

Kodagu district received an average of 6.76 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours. The water level in the Harangi reservoir stood at 2,845.58 feet. The inflow of water was 695 cusecs, while 2,000 cusecs water was released into the river.

Mangaluru experienced drizzling for some time. Heavy rains have been reported from Gadag district, including Gadag city, Ron and Nargund. The showers have come just at the right time, as the cotton, groundnut, onion and chilli crops had begun to wither. Rains were reported in the coastal areas of Uttara Kannada district on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Heavy showers were reported from Tuesday night up to Wednesday evening in Raichur district. Water rushed into low-lying areas, causing hardships for the people. Heavy rain also lashed Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Chitradurga districts.