Rains recede, but take 3 more lives

Traffic held up for seven hours on NH-48, rivers swell in Smoga district

Suresh Deshabhandari (55) was electrocuted as he attempted to lay his hands on a coconut being washed away in floods. The incident occurred as he came into contact with a live wire, in Igalakurve of Kumta taluk. His wife, Geetha, who rushed to the aid of Suresh sustained injuries.

In another incident, Devi Somaiah Hallera (70) met watery grave in Aghanashini backwaters near Kalakatta Gajani in the taluk. He tumbled into the water as he attempted to catch a timber that floated in the water.

Three-year-old Bhumika Padmanabha Shetty drowned in a pond in Gundabala Bastikeri of Honnavar taluk.

The incident occurred while she was playing near her house. Most of the areas on the Aghanashini banks have been inundated. The district administration has set up gruel centre in Dhareshwar. Boats are being used to ferry people to safer places.

Coastal Karnataka

Rains returned after a break in Mangalore inundating low-lying areas in the City. A landslide at Padil brought the traffic on NH-48 to a grinding halt for nearly two hours. An excavator was pressed into service and vehicles from Mangalore were diverted via Thokkottu-Mudipu for a while.

However, rains receded in Udupi on Saturday. The district recorded a rainfall of 109.73 mm in the last 24 hours. The heavy downpour has submerged paddy fields and caused partial damage many houses in Karkala taluk. Kutpadi in Udupi taluk has been facing the threat of sea erosion. Houses have been damaged in Kundapur taluk also.

The body of a woman, washed away at Madur on Thursday evening, was traced at Ullal. Heavy rains would occur at a few isolated places over coastal Karnataka in the next 48 hours, according to a press release from the Meteorological Department. Kodagu too witnessed a break in rains and the floods in Cauvery and Lakshmantheertha rivers have subsided. The district has registered an average rainfall of 44.35 mm over the past 24 hours.

Water level up in KRS

The water level at KRS Reservoir crossed 100 ft mark due to rains in catchment areas. According to sources, the level was 100.60 ft as against the full reservoir level of 124.80 ft.

There are reports of heavy rains in Hassan district. The traffic on Bangalore-Mangalore National Highway was thrown out of gear for more than seven hours after a huge tree fell near Shiradi Ghat in early morning hours. Hundreds of vehicles were lined up on both directions. A toppled truck and another stuck in slush compounded the traffic jam. The gridlock eased after the police removed the tree and trucks with the help of cranes.

Rivers swell

Tunga, Sharavathi, Varada and Dandavathi Rivers continued to be in spate though rains receded in Shimoga district. Varada waters have gushed into farm lands in Sagar taluk while Beesanagadde in Talguppa hobli has been marooned. Three houses have collapsed due to heavy rain in Tirthahalli taluk. Water level in the Linganamakki reservoir has went up by 3.6 feet to 1783.55 feet. The level was 162 feet in Bhadra reservoir.

Bridges submerged

Barrages and low-level bridges continued to remain submerged though rains subsided in Belgaum district. Over two lakh cusec of water is being released from Almati reservoir. Severed road connectivity compelled residents of  Kallol, Karadaga, Sidnal, Bhoj, Jatrat, Malikwad, Sadalaga and Manjari villages to take circuitous routes. The road connecting pilgrimage centre Narasimhawadi in Maharashtra from Yaksamba-Danawad of Karnataka has been restored for vehicular movement.