Heavy rains, strong winds continue to lash Kerala; Causing widespread destruction
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): A Huge number of trees got uprooted, houses were damaged, rivers are in spate, and shutters of some dams were raised in Kerala on Sunday with heavy rains overnight and strong winds continuing to lash across the state.
Almost all districts of the state received widespread rains throughout the night and in the morning, causing intense waterlogging in low-lying areas and traffic snarls.
In landslide-battered Chooralmala in Wayanad, incessant heavy rains caused concerns among local people the previous night.
Water flow in the Punnapuzha River, crisscrossing through the Chooralmala-Mundakkai region, heavily increased due to continuing downpour, they said.
"We are yet to recover from the shock of last year's landslide. We have not slept properly at night, as we were scared of seeing heavy rains. We feared something worse," an elderly local man told a TV channel.
In Pathanamthitta district, a family had a narrow escape as huge trees uprooted and fell upon their tile-roof house near Ezhamkulam, as strong winds accompanied by a downpour lashed the area on the previous evening.
"My daughter had a narrow escape as she just came out of the house when the trees fell upon the house," a family member said, pointing towards the broken roof of his old tiny house.
Five shutters of the Malankara dam in Idukki district were raised on Sunday morning to release the excess water, according to an official statement.
Those who live on the banks of the Thodupuzha and Moovattupuzha rivers should exercise caution in view of the raising of dam shutters, it said.
Uprooting of trees was reported in northern Kozhikode and Kasaragod districts, where strong winds caused damage in many places.
Tragedy was averted in the heart of Kollam city as a huge flex board, erected on the side of a road, fell, local people said.
A house and vehicles were damaged as uprooted trees fell upon them in Kunnathunad and Munambam Harbour, respectively, in Ernakulam district.
Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday predicted thunderstorms with moderate rainfall (5-15mm/ hour) with surface wind speed likely to be 50 Kmph (in Gusts) at a few places in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikkode.
Moderate rainfall (5-15mm/ hour) with surface wind speed likely to be 40 Kmph (in Gusts) at a few places in Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragode, it said.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) warned of high tidal waves from 3.1 metres to 4.2 metres and rough seas in the coastal area of the state till Monday night.
The IMD on Saturday announced the early onset of monsoons in the state. It said that the state is witnessing the early arrival of monsoon after a gap of 16 years.
According to the IMD, the monsoon arrived eight days earlier than usual, and the last time this happened was on May 23, 2009.
Prior to that, an early onset of the monsoon was seen on May 19, 1990, after 1975, it said.
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Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao criticizes Centre for steep hike in commercial LPG price
Bengaluru: Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has slammed the BJP government in the Centre for the hike in the price of commercial LPG, saying the sudden rise of the fuel rate by Rs 993 a cylinder has hit the common man hard.
Critically commenting that this was expected of the Centre after elections to five states, Rao posted in Kannada on his ‘X’ account on Saturday that the people have been shown only the trailer and, the real struggle is yet to begin.
“Since there is no election in any state, there will certainly be major hikes in the rates of petrol, diesel and domestic LPG in barely a few days,” he has predicted.
The minister has further tweeted, “The rate of commercial LPG has gone up to Rs 3,152 per cylinder, which will hit the hotel industry greatly. Ironically, the direct impact of the hike will be on customers of hotel.”
He pointed out that, earlier, the price used to be hiked by approximately Rs 50 and Rs 100 a cylinder. “This time, the rate has been shot up by Rs 993. What do we call this except daylight robbery? Can this be the ‘Acche Din’ that the BJP has been promising?” Rao asked mockingly.
He also questioned the cause for BJP members’ silence for the rate hike, reminding that the party always ‘threw a tantrum’ when a non-BJP government does so even at a minor level. “Does this reflect their fear of ‘Vishwaguru’ Modi? Is it the party’s sheer disregard for the welfare of the people?” he has questioned.
ಊಹಿಸಿದಂತೆಯೇ ಪಂಚರಾಜ್ಯ ಚುನಾವಣೆ ಬಳಿಕ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಬೆಲೆಯೇರಿಕೆಯ ಛಾಟಿ ಬೀಸಲು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿದೆ. ಕಮರ್ಷಿಯಲ್ ಸಿಲಿಂಡರ್ ಬೆಲೆಯನ್ನು ಏಕಾಏಕಿ ₹993 ಏರಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಮರ್ಮಘಾತ ನೀಡಿದೆ. ಚುನಾವಣೆ ಮುಗಿದ ಕೂಡಲೇ ಬೆಲೆಯೇರಿಕೆ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷಿತವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ ಒಂದೇ ಭಾರಿ ₹993 ಹೆಚ್ಚಳ ಮಾಡಿರುವುದು ಅನಿರೀಕ್ಷಿತದ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಆಘಾತ ತಂದಿದೆ.…
— Dinesh Gundu Rao/ದಿನೇಶ್ ಗುಂಡೂರಾವ್ (@dineshgrao) May 2, 2026
