Heavy rainfall wreaks havoc on buildings in southern Karnataka

As a result of the heavy rainfall that has been lashing the southern parts of the state, an old unused school building collapsed in Kinya Belaringe, at the outskirts of the city here. This was one among several such incidents across the region.

In Bantwal, a boulder fell on a road on Monday night near the Karinjeshwara temple. The forest department personnel cleared the timber debris that had fallen along with the boulder.

Rains continued to lash parts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts on Tuesday. The Indian Meteorological Department had sounded a red alert for Wednesday.

Heavy rain lashed across Udupi district on Monday night, resulting in damage to houses and electricity poles. A woman suffered injuries after lightning struck her house in Kote in Kaup taluk.

In Kundapura taluk, about 10 houses and three cowsheds were damaged. Two houses in Karkala, Brahmavar, and another house in Udupi were also damaged in the incessant rains.

At Kinya Belaringe, the unused school building collapsed on Monday night due to heavy rainfall. A few years ago, the Gram Panchayat had appealed to the education department to demolish the building. “The roof of the building was destroyed,” said Gram Panchayat member Siraj Kinya.

DDPI Sudhakar told DH that the department had submitted a proposal to the Panchayat Raj Engineering Division about demolishing the building.

Mangaluru South Block Education Officer Prashanth Kumar said there were no classes being conducted in the building. However, a few classes were held in the nearby Madrasa. He also said that work on the new school building is in progress and that all classes will be moved to the new building soon.

Meanwhile, Mangaluru City Corporation Commissioner Akshy Sridhar directed building contractors to stop all construction in the wake of the onset of the monsoon.

The MCC commissioner directed in a public notice: “The building contractors in MCC limits are hereby informed to stop all construction work due to the onset of monsoon season. There are chances of rain till May 19 and the rainy season is expected to commence from June. Construction work can resume post this period.”

He also ordered complete ban on levelling of hills and transportation of soil, Further, as hill levelling could lead to landslides and cause inconvenience to the public.

Ongoing construction work, however, could be taken up without causing any damage to nearby properties, he said. Safety walls must be built in steep and narrow plots, and appropriate methods of construction must be followed, he stated.

In case of violation, offenders will be booked under the Karnataka Municipal Corporation laws, the commissioner warned.