Schools, colleges shut in rain-hit coastal Karnataka
Mangaluru, May 30: All schools and colleges across coastal Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district will remain shut on Wednesday and Thursday as heavy rains disrupt normal life, said an official.
"We have advised all state-run and private schools and colleges across the district to remain closed for two days as a safety measure due to heavy rains flooding roads and localities in the district," Deputy Commissioner Sasikant Sentil told reporters here, about 350km from state capital Bengaluru.
A record 40mm rainfall on Tuesday in the port city of Manganluru inundated several areas, including roads and housing colonies and commercial hubs due to storm-water drains overflowing and garbage blocking their movement.
"Though the south-west monsoon is set to enter the state in the next two days, a cyclonic storm, low pressure and strong surface winds have brought moderate to heavy rains in the coastal areas since Monday," a weather official told IANS.
Forecasting rain or thundershowers over the next two days in the coastal districts and south interior areas due to favouring conditions, the official said fishermen have been advised not to venture into the Arabian Sea and tourists were told to stay away from beaches facing high tides.
"Took stock of the situation in Dakshina Kannada due to heavy rains since Tuesday across the coastal district and directed the administration to take assistance of the coast guard to prevent loss of life and mitigate hardship," tweeted state Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy from Bengaluru.
Pre-monsoon rains were also reported from Udupi, Honnavar, Agumbe, Karwar in the coastal region, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad and Gadag, affecting movement of people and goods and causing damage to crops.
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Venkatesh Prasad elected KSCA president, Sujith Somasundar is new vice-president
Bengaluru (PTI): Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad was on Sunday elected as the new president of the troubled Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).
In the polls, Prasad, a former vice-president of the association, went ahead of veteran sports administrator KN Shanth Kumar 749-558 as a total of 1307 members voted.
Prasad now will have the onerous task of bringing top-flight cricket back to the state, which got sidelined after the stampede near the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4 in which 11 Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans were killed.
Both Prasad and Shanth Kumar, Director of The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd and one of the Directors on the PTI Board, had vowed to take necessary steps to revive cricket in the state, and it was their respective panel's major poll pitch.
Former India batter Sujith Somasundar won the election to the post of vice-president ahead of D. Vinod Shivappa 719-588.
Somasundar had stepped down from the post of Education Head at the BCCI Centre of Excellence recently to contest in the KSCA polls.
BN Madhukar is the new KSCA treasurer after winning the election 736-571 ahead of MS Vinay. Experienced administrator Santosh Menon returned to the association fold as its new secretary after getting the better of ES Jairam 675-632.
Jairam had resigned from the post of KSCA secretary after 11 fans were killed and several injured in the stampede near the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, taking the moral responsibility for the tragic turn of events.
The Prasad-led panel, which had the open backing of former India players Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, hence grabbed four key posts in the polls which were held at the Chinnaswamy Stadium between 10am and 5 pm.
“First and foremost, this is a victory for the sport of cricket. Secondly, this is a victory for all the members who wanted a change, all the people who wanted international cricket to come back to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. This is a victory for all stakeholders — the cricket fans,” Prasad told reporters after becoming president.
The Brijesh Patel-backed camp saw BK Ravi from its list winning the race to the post of joint secretary 669-638 ahead of AV Shashidhara.
Former women’s cricketer Kalpana Venkatachar (764) and former Karnataka wicketkeeper batter Avinash Vaidya (691), who contested from Prasad's panel, were elected as members from the Bangalore Zone along with Aashish Amarlall (703).
