As rains pounded the regions battered by flood havoc two months back, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa wondered on Wednesday whether the stars are to be blamed for nature's fury again.
"There was downpour last time. It seems our stars are not good," he said.
"Once again the Rain God (Varuna) is furious and is pounding many districts, submerging many villages. Deaths have taken place and vehicles have been swept away," he told reporters.
The heavy downpour in August this year in Karnataka led to floods in 22 districts, leading to the deaths of 84 people in rain-related incidents. About 5.5 lakh acres of land were inundated, while crops in about 2.3 lakh acres were completely ruined. About 1.5 lakh houses were destroyed in August's flood and heavy rains.
Yediyurappa said he was holding discussions with the district authorities and video conferencing with them on providing relief to the rain-affected people. The Chief Minister said whatever support was extended to the flood victims two months ago would be provided to the affected people this time also. Belagavi, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Kalaburagi, Gadag, Hubballi-Dharwad, parts of Mysuru, Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru bore the brunt of heavy downpour once again.
Landslips were reported in many places while the vehicular movement was hit in several parts of the state. At Gokak, the administration toiled hard to remove a huge rock in the Mallikarjuna Hills which rolled down and stopped just before it hit a major settlement of homes.
Had it rolled its entire course, it could have severely damaged several houses, officials said.
