It’s freezing cold in Kodagu as rains continue to lash district

The Indian Red Cross Society conducted a health check-up of the people at the relief centre at the Stewart Hills in Madikeri.

The Napoklu-Bhagamandala Road is inundated following heavy rainfall in the region on Thursday. DH Photo

For the last two days, people of Kodagu district are reeling under strong winds and biting cold.

Due to continuous rains lashing the district, the temperature has drastically fallen. The minimum temperature is presently 19 degrees Celsius.

The Karnataka State Disaster Monitoring Centre has issued warning of heavy rainfall and strong winds up to July 16. It has been predicted that the temperature might dip further. Orange alert has been sounded in the district.

Several electricity poles have fallen resulting in disruption in the power supply. There was no power supply for the consecutive second day, on Thursday, in several parts of the district, including Madikeri.

Traffic was held up on many roads due to uprooting of trees, including Bhagamandala-Talacauvery Road, Madikeri-Somwarpet Road, Galibeedu Junction and on several roads in Shanivarasanthe hobli. The Forest department and the District Disaster Management teams are clearing the fallen trees.

The Chennabasaveshwara School building in Madapura was damaged due to a tree fall. A house belonging to Dharmaraya at Shirangala village in Somwarpet was damaged after a tree fell on the house. Students from the rural areas struggled to reach schools and colleges.

River in spate

Lakshmanateertha river is in a spate. The Nalkeri bridge in Srimangala is submerged. As Bhagamandala region received heavy rainfall, leaving the Bhagamandala-Napoklu Road inundated. Water level has risen in Kumaradhara river in the Pushpagiri hill range.

A total of 20 cm of rainfall has been recorded at Bettadalli in Somwarpet taluk. Bhagamandala has received 16 cm of rainfall, Chowdlu village has received 12 cm of rainfall and T Shettigeri has received 14 cm of rainfall.

Water storage level in Harangi dam has reached 2,854 feet. The maximum water level in the dam is 2,849 feet. The inflow was 15,020 cusec and the outflow was 15,000 cusec. Three more relief centres have been opened in the district, totaling to five.

At least 84 people are taking shelter at the Red Cross Bhavan in Madikeri, Mahaganapathi temple hall in Koyanadu, St Anns School and Tomara School in Virajpet taluk and at Ponnatmotte in Kushalnagar taluk. People residing in houses located by the riverside, near the reclining walls and near huge trees, have shifted to their relatives’ houses.

In Suntikoppa, traffic on National Highway at Seventh Hosakote came to a halt after a tree came crashing on the road. There was a traffic jam for more than 45 minutes at Madapura Road near Panya due to a tree fall.

The toilet of Madapura D Chennamma PU College was damaged after a tree fell on the roof. Similar incident was reported at the Government Primary School in Garaganduru.

The house belonging to Bojamma Shambu in Kodagarahalli was damaged after a tree fell on the house on Wednesday night. More than 10 trees in the TCL plantation belonging to the Tata company were felled by the CESC, as trees were titling in a dangerous position.

Compensation

Deputy Commissioner Dr B C Sateesha has stated that the district administration has been disbursing compensation to the people affected by rains.

In Kodagu district, two houses are completely damaged. 15 houses are severely damaged and 63 houses are partly damaged. A compensation of Rs 95,100 is offered to the families whose houses are totally damaged. Among the 15 families whose houses are severely damaged, 14 have been provided with a total compensation of Rs 10,53,708. A total compensation of Rs 2,65,000 has been provided to 51 families among 63, whose houses have been partly damaged, he said.

The teams from Amritha Vishwa Vidyalaya, Kollam, Kerala and Karnataka State Disaster Monitoring Centre have paid a visit to Chamundeshwari Nagar, Madikeri and Ayyappa Hills in Virajpet.