Heavy rain pounds coastal region, pregnant woman rescued by boat

UDUPI/MANGALURU/MYSURU: A pregnant women, who was stranded in a flood-affected neighbourhood in Katapady of Udupi district, was rescued by boat and sent to her hometown on Sunday.
Udupi police, along with officials from the fire department, rescued the seven-month pregnant woman after her house was flooded following incessant rain. The woman was stuck on the first floor of a building.

Heavy rain has been lashing the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi since Friday and has already claimed the lives of four persons, forcing the district administrations to issue alerts and step up rescue operations. The rain is expected to continue in coastal Karnataka for the next two days.

Farmer drowned in Sringeri

The Malnad region too witnessed heavy rainfall on Sunday. In Chikkamagaluru, a 47-year-old farmer from Ginagal village in Sringeri drowned in a pond after he slipped and fell into it.

The highest rainfall was reported from Kodagu, Shivamogga and Hassan districts, according to officials. In Shivamogga, farmers are worried over the fate of their arecanut crop as they are likely to be hit with fruit-rot disease.

Thithimathi bridge collapses

Rain continued in Kodagu on Sunday, damaging roads and bridges and affecting repair works in major roads which were blocked after collapse of bridges. The bridge at Thithimathi collapsed again. The traffic between Gonikoppal and Periyapatna via Thithimathi has been restricted.

A tree fell on Anekadu Road near Kushalnagar, blocking the traffic for a few hours on Sunday. Following increased inflow in to Cauvery and Kabini rivers, Barachukki and Gaganachukki falls are attracting tourists in large numbers. Locals have urged the Chamarajanagar and Mandya district administrations to organise Barachukki and Gaganachukki utsav.