Udupi: Threat of Flood looms Large: Two lose Lives to Rain Fury
by Inchara - Udupi
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Jul 6: The rain that seemed to abate a little on Sunday afternoon, gained intensity at night. Heavy rains have been lashing all the places in the twin-districts and also the adjoining districts like Kodagu, Kasargod and Uttara Kannada. Karkala received 23 cms of rain. Most of the other places got rains between 10 and 21 cms. Several isles have been cut off from the mainland due to the inundation of roads leading to them and the rough water making it hard to use the boats.
Sharada (50), wife of Appi Nayak, resident of Erlapady village in Karkala taluk lost her life after she slipped and fell into an overflowing canal. Tahsildar P Achuta visited the spot. Two cows owned by Deju from Halekki and another belonging Sadhu Bhandary were killed by the high tension cables that snapped and fell on them at Muratangady in Sanoor village.
Ashok Kanchan (33) from Keregadde House in Devalkunda village of Kundapur taluk died on the evening of Saturday July 4, due to lightning near the well in his farm. Landslides, collapsing of walls, uprooted trees etc., have become a common feature at most of the villages.
The Hosmutt bridge used by pilgrims to reach Subrahmanya was covered by the rising levels of Kumaradhara River. Low-lying areas in Gurpur, Mulky etc., have been inundated. Several families in Kodagu district were relocated after the rising level of Cauvery River threatened to flood their homes. Bhagamandala-Ayyangeri road remains under water, disrupting traffic on this road.
Udupi: Houses on Seashore at Muloor face Danger from Sea
The heavy rains the region has been receiving, has aggravated the situation at the seashore, with the sea erosion posing danger to several houses located near the sea shore in Muloor village near Kaup in Udupi district. The existence of some coconut farms too has been threatened. Some of the families here have already shifted to safer places. A few coconut trees have also got uprooted.
The local people have been facing the fury of the sea since the last several others and they are unhappy about the inability of successive governments to find a permanent solution to this grave problem.
Under the directions of MLA Lalaji Mendon, Narayanappa, an officer of the fisheries and ports department, visited the spot and undertook inspection. He said he would submit a report to the MLA and the district deputy commissioner.
The locals have been demanding for the stacking of rocks on the sea shore with immediate effect, as their past experience says that early stacking of boulders regulates the fury of the sea to a large extent.
Rough sea was experienced all over the Karnataka coast on Sunday. Tannirbhavi near Mangalore was witness to huge waves that were trying to encroach upon the land. The scene of huge waves whipping the sunken 'Den Den' ship at Tannirbhavi provided an attractive scene to the onlookers who arrived there to witnessed the fury of Arabian Sea.
Speaking at Puttur on Sunday, MP Nalin Kumar Katil said he would request the state government to appoint a high level committee of technical experts to find a lasting solution to the problem of sea erosion.