Udupi: Several places in the Udupi district have been affected by heavy rainfall, leading to the closure of roads at Kalsanka Manipal, Gundibail, and Malpe.  Areas such as The Ambalapadi, Gundibail, Bannanje, Kaup, and several other regions have been severely affected by flooding. According to the District Collector, G Jagdish, 50 families have rescued from the region so far. 

The Udupi Police and Fire Service Department have been busy with rescue operation since Saturday night and the NDRF Team have also been summoned to aid these operations. The District Collector has directed the citizens affected by the extreme weather to contact the emergency number 1077, to receive help from the assigned control room. 

 The parking area at Udupi Krishna Mata and the city’s national highway routes have been completely waterlogged due to the heavy rains. Several shops and godowns in the district have been flooded. 

Extreme rainfall has resulted in the sinking of 3 boats, causing heavy damages ranging in lakhs of rupees. During this ordeal, the fishermen managed to rescue themselves by seeking refuge in the rocks and boulders by the sea. 

The road at Gundibail has worsened due to the rains. Udupi-Manipal main roads have deteriorated, while many shops and houses at Badagupete have experienced flooding. 

Due to the drop in air pressure at the Bengal Sea, as recorded on September 20, a torrential rainfall accompanied by thunder is expected to continue till September 22. The coastal and highland regions of the state are expected to bear the brunt of heavy rains due to which a red alert has been issued. 

Udupi, Uttara Kannada, and Dakshina Kannada districts are expected to receive heavy downpour accompanied by thunderstorms from September 20 to September 22 as per the forecast released by the Department of Meteorology.

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Bengaluru (PTI): In an effort to end the logjam over the Governor's address that has stalled proceedings for the past week, Karnataka Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Wednesday ruled that legislators should not discuss Thaawarchand Gehlot or his conduct in the house, saying such debates send the wrong message to the public.

The House has witnessed repeated disruptions and adjournments since the session began on January 22 over the issue of the governor's conduct.

During his address to the joint sitting of the Karnataka legislature on January 22, Gehlot read out only three sentences from the 122-paragraph speech prepared by the state government.

The speech included criticism of the Centre for replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajivika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), portions of which the governor declined to read.

Concluding his address in about two minutes, the governor left the house, triggering a commotion as Congress legislators attempted to gherao him and raised slogans.

While the opposition BJP accused the ruling Congress and its ministers of "insulting" the governor and demanded action, the treasury benches countered by claiming the governor had "insulted the National Anthem by leaving before it was played."

The house again witnessed heated arguments on the issue earlier in the day, leading to adjournment.

During the interruption, Khader held a meeting with ministers and opposition members to resolve the impasse.

When proceedings resumed, the speaker delivered his ruling.

Referring to the events of January 22 and the subsequent debate, Khader said the conduct and discussions had conveyed the wrong message to the public.

"Our conduct as members of this House and the opinions expressed must be in good taste and in accordance with constitutional provisions. They must uphold the dignity of the House and its members. We must introspect in this direction," he said.

He stressed the need for caution to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future.

"Let us end this matter here, continue the discussion on the motion of thanks to the governor, and refrain from discussing the governor or his conduct in this house," the speaker said.

Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said the house should express regret over what he termed an "insult" to the governor.

Responding, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the situation would not have arisen had the governor read out the entire address.

"Asking the house to express regret is not appropriate. Why did the governor leave even before the National Anthem was played," Siddaramaiah asked.

BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar reminded Siddaramaiah that as Leader of the Opposition in 2011, he had asked then Governor Hansraj Bhardwaj to curtail his address.

Bhardwaj had subsequently placed the address on the table of the house, requesting members to treat it as read.

Siddaramaiah said the situation in January 2011 was different from the present one.

The debate grew intense, leading to another adjournment of the house.