Thundershowers pound Kalyana Karnataka, destroy crops

Children salvage their books damaged in house collapse following heavy rain in Koppal. 

Heavy showers, accompanied by thunder and lightning, lashed Kalyana Karnataka districts, parts of coastal and Malnad regions on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.

Kalyana Karnataka districts - Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Koppal and Raichur - bore the maximum brunt with acres of standing crops, including tur and cotton, turning yellow due to high moisture in the fields.

A family of four, including two boys aged 13 and 11, injured after a 25-feet high wall of a groundnut mill collapsed on their house at Kuvempunagar in Koppal town. The injured - Prakash Vatti (44), wife Neelamma Vatti (32) and their sons Chetan and Karthik - were rushed to the district hospital. All four are said to have recovered. Household utensils, appliances and school textbooks were damaged in the incident.

A pair of oxen was struck dead by lightning at Tengali village in Kalagi taluk of Kalaburagi district. Overnight downpour has left the pre-matric boys hostel in Shahbad flooded. Several villages in Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts have been cut-off due to overflowing streams.

Many parts of Vijayapura district, including the city, received sharp showers through the night.

The overflowing Doni river affected vehicular movement on Talikote-Vijayapura and Bagalkot routes. With bridges across Doni going under floodwaters, motorists heading from Talikote to Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Kalabuargi had to take a detour for about 50 km to 100 km via Devarahipparagi.

Acres of marigold, dragon fruit and maize were flooded at Haaraknalu in Harapanahalli taluk. Two houses each were damaged in the rain in Kottur and Hagaraibommanahalli taluks, Vijayanagara district.

Sirsi taluk in Uttara Kannada and parts of Belagavi district received thundershowers on Saturday evening.

Rain inundates M’luru

Heavy downpour in the early hours of Saturday left Mangaluru and surrounding areas flooded. Apartment dwellers had a tough time in clearing the rainwater that flooded their basements.

Traffic in Mangaluru city was hit on several flooded roads, including Pumpwell Circle and a national highway stretch at Padil.

Harekal in Mangaluru taluk recorded 17.4 cm of rain, while Pajiru and Meremajalu received 14 and 13.5 cm of rains.

Shivamogga city also received sharp showers for two hours on Saturday morning. The early morning rain flooded several houses in the low-lying areas of ward number 18.

The overflowing Bhadra canal has flooded vast tracts of fields on either side.