Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, May 31: On Sunday May 30 evening, almost all the taluks in the twin-districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi received good rains, coupled with thunder, lightning, and wind. The Karnataka coast, which was parched due to the rising temperatures, as the rains have been playing truant since a week, got some respite as a result.

The city, Subrahmanya, Puttur, Uppinangady, Beltangady, Bantwal, Mulky, Moodbidri, Karkala, Kundapur, Shirur etc., received good rains. Places in Kerala coast like Talapady, Kunjattoor and Manjeshwar received rains on Sunday morning. Reports said that Kodagu district also was drenched in rain for nearly an hour on Sunday evening.

Landline telephone services and power supply got affected because of the rain. The uncleared storm drains forced the rain water to flow on the roads, affecting the road users. Traffic was disrupted for some time in Karkala taluk, after an electric pole fell across the road near Harikhandige.

A person named Surendra Shetty (28), a resident of Kattinole near Kollur, died on the spot, after lightning struck near the Sarvajna Peetha in Kodachadri Hill on Sunday evening. In this incident, two others suffered grave injuries. Two women, Meenakshi (40) and Avvabi (55), who sought shelter from rain in a shed in Haradoor near Madapura in Kodagu district, were killed after a nearby tree, which was hit by lightning, fell on the shed.

The meteorological department has predicted the monsoon to enter Kerala coast within the next two days, as the conditions have turned conducive for the rainy season to begin on time. Because of the low pressure area created over the Arabian Sea, coast and some places in southern hinterlands in the state are likely to get more rains till Tuesday.