‘Sad that people filmed the stabbing instead of stopping the assailant’

Mangaluru, Aug 5: Normal life was thrown out of gear as heavy rain and gusty winds lashed large parts of coastal and malnad districts of Karnataka in last 48 hours. Widespread power outages due to tree fall and minor landslides were reported in last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Indian Meteorological Department has sounded a red alert for Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts 8:30am of August 5.

In Mangaluru city there were several tree falls disrupting power supply in key areas of the city. Four electricity poles were damaged after a tree fell on Boloor Jarandaya road due to rain and heavy winds. In Neermarga too, there were a couple of tree falls in the morning cutting off power supply, which was not restored till this report was sent.

Mescom bore the brunt of the rains in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada District and at the last count as many as 148 electric poles, 23 transformers and 65 kilometer conductor wires were damaged due to poles being damaged in tree fall and landslides.

Traffic was affected on Charmadi Ghat on the Mangaluru-Chikkamagaluru route due to a tree fall on the second hair pin bend. 

On Monday, landslides near Kottigehara, Chikkamagaluru District, left traffic badly affected. Though normalcy has been restored on the route after blocking the road for restoration till Tuesday morning, locals fear more landslides due to continuous downpour.

Kodagu district too received heavy rainfall in past 24 hours which resulted in water logging in low-lying areas.

In the Coast, Uttara Kannada received the highest amount of rainfall at 91mm, followed by Udupi at 75 and DK at 73mm. The highest Rainfall of 241 mm was recorded at Castlerock, Supa Taluk in Uttara Kannada District.

KSNMDC bulletin stated that widespread moderate to heavy rains associated with strong surface winds at times and isolated very heavy to extreme heavy rains was likely over Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts It also stated that wind speeds ranging between 50kmph to 60 kmph was forecast along the coast of Karnataka from Mangaluru to Karwar, warning fishermen not to venture into the sea.

Madikeri, Aug 7: Two days after massive landslides triggered by heavy downpour in Kodagu, five people including a priest are still missing. 

The landslide, which originating at Brahmagiri Hills in Talacauvery, swept away two houses on Wednesday night.

This missing people are: Talacauvery temple chief Narayana Achar (70), his wife Shantha (70), brother Ananda Theertha Swami (87) and two assistants — Ravi Kiran (26) and Srinivas (30). Achar’s neighbour had shifted out of Bhagamandala earlier, fearing a landslide. 

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had to stop rescue operations due to bad weather. The operations resumed today. 

“There are many minor landslides on the way to the spot,” said Kodagu Deputy Commissioner C Annies K Joy, adding that the flood situation at Bhagamandala was not permitting earthmovers to reach the spot. Heavy rain between Wednesday and Thursday triggered landslides. 

Bhagamandala Panchayat Development Officer Ashok said a notice was issued to the priest’s family to shift out of the house, but they chose to stay back. 

On Thursday morning, when the Talacauvery temple staff went to check on Narayana Achar, as he had not reached the temple for the daily puja, they found levelled land and debris where Achar’s house stood. Utensils, puja material and clothes were found nearly 2 km away at Cherangala. 

As rains continued over the last few days, many rivers are flowing above the danger levels, forcing people to move to safer places.

 Responding to the situation, which is turning grimmer by the day, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who is currently undergoing treatment in a private hospital after testing positive for Covid-19, directed ministers to visit rain-hit areas and supervise relief efforts. He has also assured of providing required financial assistance for those affected.