Rains recede, leave behind a trail of destruction

Showers gave a break on Sunday after battering the north Karnataka districts for two days. The torrential rain that lashed Kalyana Karnataka and Mumbai Karnataka districts on Friday and Saturday has left behind a trail of destruction.

A 11-year-old girl died after a portion of her house wall, weakened by a prolonged wet weather, fell on her at Donkamadu in Muddebihal taluk, Vijayapura district, in the early hours of Sunday. While Maremma Hulagappa Bijjur died, another girl Rekha Lotageri suffered serious injuries in the incident, Vijayapura DC P Sunil Kumar told reporters.

As many as 303 houses in the district have suffered partial damage while three houses collapsed completely, the DC said.

Parts of Vijayapura district, including the city, continued to receive sporadic spells of showers on Sunday. Talikote recorded 4.5 cm of rain while Dhavalgi and Devara Hippargi received 4 cm and 3 cm of rainfall respectively.

Hosapete taluk, including UNESCO world heritage site Hampi, witnessed showers for the third consecutive day on Sunday. More than 100 houses have been damaged due to incessant showers in the taluk.

Parts of Belagavi and Dharwad districts also received light to moderate showers in the day.

Meanwhile, relief centres have been opened at the rain-hit areas, including Kakanakere, Basavanabhavi Circle and Hegganahalli, in Raichur. The city and surrounding areas had witnessed torrential rain on Friday and Saturday, leaving the low-lying areas and vast tracts of farmlands waterlogged. According to the district administration, in Raichur taluk alone more than 500 houses have been damaged.

A 19th century banyan tree, planted by Nawab Nasir-ud-Dowla, near Rangeen Mahal in Bidar fort precinct, was relegated to history books. The tree, weakened by thunderstorms that lashed the city in the last two months, collapsed on Saturday.