Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Nov 13: The rains which had doggedly drenched parts of the district almost on a regular basis had given Dakshina Kannada district a respite from rains for four to five days. On Friday morning, the rain made an appearance suddenly.

The farmers of Beltangady taluk, considering that there was cloudy weather for a week, had hoped that the rain might have made an exit. But the rain which started during the early morning hours on Friday continued till 8 am. Thereafter, there was cloudy weather the entire day with light drizzle in parts of Beltangady taluk during the remaining part of the day.

Already the farmers who have raised paddy, rubber and arecanut have become a harassed lot because of loss of agriculture. Now the continuance of rainfall has come as a double whammy. The agricultural activities which had resumed are likely to become sluggish.

The drizzle and cloudy weather have created fear of infectious diseases like dengue and malaria raising their ugly heads. Viral fever, cold, throat pain, headache, etc have become common ailments already. The water coming from drizzle and normal rain gets stranded and because of cloudy weather, much of it does not get evaporated. The stranded water becomes a breeding centre for mosquitoes which in turn spread diseases.

The health department has been continuing with its larvae survey. Health workers have been visiting houses and conducting this survey. Spots in houses and farms where mosquitoes might breed are identified and cleared by them. Beltangady taluk health officer Dr Kala Madhu, has asked the people to be very careful as the environment now is conducive to spread infectious diseases.