Udupi district bears brunt of downpour

UDUPI/ MANGALURU: Rain battered the coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada on Monday, with the former bearing the brunt, with many areas getting inundated in the city as well as in the taluks due to continuous downpour and swollen rivers.

Normal was thrown out of gear in both the districts and traffic gridlocks were the order of the day. As Udupi district administration had not declared a holiday for schools and colleges, many students had to endure misery, especially in rural areas. Students in DK were spared of the ordeal since DC had declared a holiday on Monday.

In Udupi, the problem was compounded due to high tide which resulted in many parts of the city getting waterlogged particularly Karamballi, Kalsanka, Gundibailu, among others. In Gundibail, students of a PG accommodation had to be shifted to safer places using boats as the structure was inundated. A couple of car passengers had a miraculous escape when their car was swept away near Kannarpady. The car was later salvaged by the fire and emergency services department personnel.

Reports reaching here said Byndoor taluk was one of the worst affected with areas like Shiroor, Makkigadde, Yedthare and surrounding villages getting inundated due to copious rainfall as well as swollen rivers.

In Mangaluru, traffic crawled due to heavy rains and some low lying areas got flooded. The Kanara Industries Association (KIA), Baikampady, , claimed that Monday’s rains had caused an approximate Rs 2 crore loss for the Baikampady Industrial Area. Arun Padiyar N, President, KIA, raised this concern alleging that unless the design flaws are addressed, the disaster will repeat annually. ``MSMEs like Malabar Oxygen, which provides crucial oxygen to hospitals around the district, are already underwater. Industries such as Ajith Enterprises, which manufacture essential equipment for various large industries, are inundated. Other major sufferers include Durga Motors, JV Springs, Gurudev Plastics, Akolite, Manjunath Rubbers, Rodricks Garage and all micro, small, and medium industries in the surrounding area,’’ he said.

Udupi holiday
With a red alert being sounded by IMD for DK and Udupi, Udupi Deputy Commissioner Vidya Kumari has declared a holiday for all schools and PU colleges across the entire district on Tuesday. All anganwadis, primary schools, high schools, and Pre-University Colleges (PUC) will remain closed, barring engineering colleges, diploma colleges, ITIs, and post-graduate courses. Udupi district administration has issued a caution to the public to remain alert and remain safe.

According to the Rain Monitoring Cell at the Udupi DC Office, the district received an average of 110mm of rainfall. Karkala taluk received 63.9 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours ending at 8 am on Monday. Kundapur taluk received 138.6 mm rainfall, Udupi (118 mm), Byndoor (147.3 mm), Brahmavara (104 mm), Kaup ( 79.5 mm) and Hebri received 95.8 mm of rainfall. Eleven houses were partially damaged and one house was fully damaged in Udupi district and the damage was estimated at 12 lakh.

DK district received an average rainfall of 48mm, with Mangaluru and Sullia receiving the highest rainfall at 85mm and 72mm respectively. In DK district, 12 houses were damaged partially and three severely in the last 24 hours.