Heavy rain claims six lives in Karnataka; crops washed away

Six persons lost their lives in Ballari, Tumakuru, Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru districts in separate incidents following heavy rains in the last 48 hours.

Krishna Kumar (51), a resident of Bommaghatta, was washed away in floods in a stream at Ankamanal in Sandur taluk of Ballari on Tuesday. The incident occurred when the victim, a private company employee, was going to his office on a bike.

Areefullah Khan (54), a teacher at government Urdu School at Dawoodpalya in Sira taluk of Tumakuru district was washed away while he was crossing a rivulet near Channanakunte in the taluk. He was on his way home on a bike from the school when the incident occurred on Tuesday.

Shantamma, (68), was killed after a portion of the house wall collapsed at Kenchanakere village in Hunsur taluk of Mysuru district on Monday night.

Shruthi (11) and Jnanasri (8) were buried alive after mounds of mud came crashing down on their house following a landslide at Parvathamukhi in Subrahmanya in Dakshina Kannada district on Monday night.

Nagaraju (28), a construction worker from Chikkanayakanahalli in Tumakuru district, was washed away in floods in Torehalla at Ippadi village in Kunigal taluk of the district. He was asleep at a makeshift shed for the construction of a check dam. Four others managed to escape.

Large-scale destruction

Heavy downpour in Uttara Kannada, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Vijayanagara, Ballari, Tumakuru, Raichur, Kolar, Mysuru, Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts inundated a large tracts of agricultural lands.

Kalyana Karnataka region, south interior parts of the state and Coastal belt witnessed large-scale destruction of public infrastructure facilities as bridges, roads, electricity poles, railway tracks and government buildings were damaged. Over 100 houses were damaged, while trees were uprooted in different parts.

Other districts too recorded rainfall.

Routine life was thrown out of gear in most districts on Tuesday as roads and streets were submerged blocking movement of vehicles. Water gushed into houses in low-lying areas. Power outages added to the woes of the residents.

Schools and colleges were declared a holiday in Gadag and Hassan districts to prevent any untoward incidents.

Raichur district recorded 44 mm rainfall, while Bhatkal recorded 55 mm rainfall on Monday night alone. The national highway passing through the town was submerged for hours blocking vehicular movement.

It rained heavily between 7 am and 1 pm across Vijayapura district. Rains inundated over 2,000 acres of land in Bidar district.

There was a flood like situation due to the large quantity of drift wood stuck at the vented dam near Koyanadu in Kodagu district.

Water overflowed on the Bengaluru-Mysuru national highway as Hosabudanuru lake in Mandya taluk breached. The highway was closed for movement and the vehicles were diverted on an alternative route.

The Budanuru lake breached on Monday midnight, inundating crops on thousands of acres of farmlands.