There was no let up in rains in Kodagu on Sunday which continued to bear the brunt of vigorous monsoon with more than 100 mm of rainfall recorded in many places in the district.
Bhagamandala and Talacauvery, the source of river Cauvery, recorded 162.5 mm of rainfall during the 24-hour period ending 8.30 a.m. on Sunday. In view of the heavy rains in the region the district administration has announced holiday for all schools and anganwadis on Monday.
In view of the monsoon gaining fresh traction and continuing rains in the Cauvery catchment area, the inflow into the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) - abetted by increase in outflow from the Hemavathi reservoir in Gorur in Hassan - was at the rate of 91,637 cusecs on Sunday evening. The outflow from the dam exceeded 1 lakh cusecs for the first time this year and was at the rate of 1,00,719 cusecs.
Normal life was thrown out of gear and people of Kodagu who have come to dread the ‘’August Rains’’ – given the devastation wreaked by rains in the month during the last 3 years – remained indoors for the greater part of the day.
There was be brief interlude between two spells of heavy rains but the woes of the people did not abate. Madikeri kasaba recorded 109.2 mm of rainfall and Napoklu recorded 90 mm while Sampaje (99.5 mm), Shantalli (192 mm) and Srimangala (70.2 mm) were other centres with heavy to very heavy rains during the 24 -hour period ending at 8.30 a.m. on Sunday.
While Galibidu GP in Madikeri taluk recorded 128.5 mm of rainfall, Bhagamangala, also in Madikeri taluk, recorded 127.5 mm of rainfall, according to the district administration.
The Forest Department and CECS staff were on their toes throughout the day to clear the uprooted trees or electricity poles and MLA K.G.Bopaiah, supervised the road clearance work on the Bhagamandala-Karike highway which was awash with mud and sludge flowing from the runoff. The district administration confirmed reports of houses being damaged by the incessant rains at many places like Karnangeri while roads were damaged in Chembu and Urubailu. There was power outage in Kelakodli village as electricity poles were uprooted and had to be replaced.
Madikeri MLA Appachu Ranjan took stock of the damage to the Hodavada-Napoklu link road. The authorities said Madikeri-Chettahalli road was open for traffic after the slush and debris were cleared later in the day. Mr.Appachu Ranjan also visited the rain-affected villages in Madapura.
Consequent to heavy rains in the district the inflow into the Harangi reservoir in Kushalnagar has increased and was at the rate of 14,920 cusecs. The low-lying areas in the town such as Sai Nagar were flooded.
