Bengaluru/Sirsi, 17 July

With the rains not letting up and the monsoon still vigorous, the India Meteorological Department has extended the red alert for coastal State till 18 July.

Since the intensity of rain has reduced in south interior State, the weather department has retracted the red alert for the region and has issued an orange one till 20 July.

Even in coastal State, the downpour is expected to become less intense from 19 July onwards, with the weather department predicting that it would be under orange category for now.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Kannada Laxmipriya said that due to the relentless rain, the district had opened 26 care centres on 16 July, including six in Karwar taluk, six in Kumta and 14 in Honnavar, sheltering 2,368 people.

According to her, in the last 24 hours, three houses were completely damaged, one severely and 18 partially, and one human life was lost due to a house collapse in Karwar taluk.

Chikkamagaluru and Hassan have also been heavily impacted by the rain. In Sringeri, for instance, the parking areas and the roads leading to Sringeri Temple and mutt are still inundated, making it impossible for devotees to visit the temple.

In Sakleshpura taluk of Hassan, in many villages, such as Mavinur and Kaginere, there is still no electricity due to the rain. Also, mudslides are becoming more frequent in the region, the most affected being National Highway 75, between Sakleshpura and Maranahalli.

Incidentally, the stretch of road between Sakleshpura and Maranahalli was just fixed last year after the 2018 landslides damaged them.

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