Heavy rains pound western Karnataka

Bangalore: The monsoon that played traunt for more than a year is in full vigour in western Karnataka reviving the lost hopes of people. The Malnad belt of the state — from Belgaum district to Kodagu — and coastal areas received heavy rains on Monday resulting increased inflow into reservoirs.

Incessant rains wreaked havoc in parts of Mudigere taluk, resulting in landslides on Charmadi Ghat, thereby disrupting the vehicular movements from Dharmasthala and Chikmagalur on either sides on the National Highway 314. The work to clear the block caused by land slides along the Charmadi Ghat on Monday, however, could not be carried out as heavy rains caused more landslides in the region. Vehicular traffic has been diverted to Shiradi Ghat.

An auto driver who got down from his vehicle to unload vegetables had a narrow escape at Kakkinje on Charmadi Ghat, as his vehicle fell 15 feets into the nearby gorge due to a landslide.

Flash Floods in Canara

Coastal district Dakshina Kannada continued to receive rains throughout the day. Shops and establishments in low-lying areas of Sullia taluk suffered, as the flash-floods inundated the area. Kumaradhara bridge and Snanaghatta at Kukke temple also submerged due to rise in water levels in the river Kumaradhara, said local administration officials.

Schools closed

Kodagu district received a heavy downpour of 67.13 mm on Monday, pushing the district administration to declare holidays for schools on Tuesday and Wednesday. There were reports of floods from South Kodagu at Napoklu and Bhagamandala. Normal life was affected due to flash floods, road blocks and power cuts.

Fields submerged

Life in Koppa and Sringeri taluks got disturbed as the river Tunga and other rivulets started flooding above the danger mark in some parts of the taluks. Paddy fields at Nagalapura have been submerged in some places, and washed away in other places. Schools in some areas in the taluks remained closed on Monday.

Normal life in Sakleshpur, Alur and Arkalgud taluks of Hassan district was hit by heavy rain. Standing crops including paddy, banana and ginger spread over 50 acres got submerged in parts of Sakleshpur and Arkalgud taluks.

Traffic on NH disrupted

Traffic on Bangalore-Mangalore National Highway 48 was disrupted for two hours on Sunday night.