Rain causes landslides in Coast, Malnad

With the rain fury unabated in coastal and Maland districts, movement of vehicles on several roads including national highways was affected on Monday due to landslides at multiple places.

Traffic was hit on Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway due to a landslide at Doddatappale in Sakleshpur taluk. Heavy rain coupled with strong winds has been lashing the taluk since Sunday evening. The gusty winds have uprooted several trees and electricity poles on the roads. The Sakleshpur-Hanbal and Venkatalli-Hanbal roads were blocked. According to the officials, the highway was cleared for vehicles by Monday evening.

The movement of vehicles came to a standstill on Madikeri-Mangaluru National Highway-275 due to the landslide at Madenadu. The road was blocked by a heap of mud for a stretch of around 100 metre. Five earthmovers were pressed into service to clear the road. The operation is likely to continue till Tuesday noon. The vehicles headed to Mangaluru were diverted at Kushalnagar to ply via Hassan and Shanivarasanthe. The passengers had a harrowing experience as there was a long queue of vehicles stranded on both sides of the road.

There was a landslide on Konanooru-Makutta state highway connecting Kerala. A huge boulder fell on the road near Makutta. Several roads have been virtually washed away at many locations.

Heavy rain continued to lash Kodagu district on Monday. As a result, the water level in Rivers Cauvery and Lakshmanatheertha went up further. About 20,000 cusecs of water was released from Harangi reservoir to the river.

In the last 24 hours (ending 8.30 am on Monday), Shanthalli received highest of 191 mm rain followed by Sampaje —156 mm, Madikeri—137 mm, Somwarpet—112 mm and Bhagamandala—95 mm.

Intermittent rain lashed different parts of Dakshina Kannada district on Monday. The Hosamata bridge on Kadaba-Subrahmanya road continued to be under water, inconveniencing the pilgrims visiting Kukke Subrahmanya temple. The water from Kumaradhara river flowed on Kadaba-Panja road at Pulikukku and snapped road connectivity. The water level in river Nethravathi stood at 7.9 metre at Bantwal while the water level in Kumaradhara reached 22 metre in Uppinangady. In the last 24 hours, DK district received an average of 93.5 mm rain.

Heavy rain with gusty wind continued to lash Udupi district. The district received heavy rain of 83.56 mm in the last 24 hours. Udupi taluk received 80.3 mm rain, while Kundapur recorded 74.2 mm and Karkala taluk received 96.2 mm.

There was no respite from rain in Chikkamagaluru also. The landslide on the road to Bababudangiri Swamy Dargah disrupted the movement of vehicles.

Earth movers were pressed to service to clear the road. The movement of vehicles from Kaimara checkpost has been prohibited. Heavy rain lashed Kalasa, Samse, Horanadu, Hirebailu, Nellibeedu, Jambali, Kuduremukh. Vidyatheertha road in Sringeri was inundated for the 10th time during this monsoon.

There was heavy rain in Shivamogga district also. Thirthahalli and Hosanagara taluks have been receiving copious rains for the past three days. Paddy fields are submerged in water in various parts of Thirthahalli taluk.

Rain pounded Uttara Kannada district on Monday. Fishermen have not ventured into the sea due to high waves. The inflow to River Krishna and its tributaries Doodhganga and Vedganga has increased following rain in Konkan region and south-west Maharashtra.

Holiday for schools

Holiday has been declared on Tuesday for schools in Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi districts, Chikkamagaluru, Narasimharajapura, Mudigere, Koppa and Sringeri taluks; Thirthahalli and Hosanagar taluks in Shivamogga district and Sirsi, Yallapur and Siddapur taluks in Uttara Kannada districts.