Signalling the revival of the southwest monsoon after a brief lull, parts of south interior Karnataka and Malnad have received heavy rains since early this week.
Life was thrown out of gear in parts of Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, and Kodagu districts due to heavy rains in the last two days.
One person is suspected to have been washed away in floods near Sringeri. The local police have received a complaint from Jayalakshmi, a resident of Holehaddu village in Sringeri taluk, stating that her husband H.T. Umesh, 52, had gone missing since Wednesday afternoon. He went to the fields during heavy rains, and did not return. “The complainant fears that he must have been washed away in the floods,” Sringeri Police told The Hindu.
Vehicular movement between Tirthahalli and Udupi was disrupted for sometime owing to a landslip on the Agumbe Ghat. In the wake of the incident, the movement of buses and trucks on Agumbe Ghat road has been banned from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m.
In Shivamogga, the Tunga was flowing near the danger mark as water was being discharged at the rate of 30,526 cusecs from the reservoir near Gajanur to the river.
Holiday declared
The authorities declared a holiday for primary and high schools in Madikeri and Somwarpet taluk in Kodagu district and in Tirthahalli taluk of Shivamogga district on Thursday. Incessant rains in the first week of June had affected life in Kodagu, and places of pilgrimage and tourist importance, like Bhagamandala and Talacauvery, were inundated and was out of bounds. Though the current spell of rains is not as heavy in Kodagu, officials say it is a sign of revival and the district administration is bracing up for a similar eventuality. Being the catchment area of Cauvery, a good spell of monsoon in Kodagu brings a sigh of relief to farmers and the general public.
Rainfall has been uniform and widespread across the region, and Bhagamandala has received 160 mm of rainfall for the 24-hour-period ending 8.30 a.m. on Thursday.
Contrast to last year
The situation in Kodagu this year is in stark contrast to what prevailed last year. The district has received a cumulative rainfall of 1,312.24 mm from January to date as against 656.86 mm of rains it received last year and suffered severe water stress.
This year’s rains in Chikkamagaluru is reckoned to be the highest in recent years. Since June 1, the district received 473.4 mm of rainfall against the normal expected in the period at 123.5 mm. Similarly, several parts of Sakleshpur and Belur have been receiving good rains.