Heatwave alert in north Karnataka segments going to polls on May 7, rain predicted in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): An orange alert for heat wave has been issued in most of the 14 Karnataka districts where Lok Sabha constituencies are going to polls on May 7, as temperatures hit 42 to 44 degrees Celsius in the last couple of days, whereas Bengaluru could get light rains in the coming days.
The Election Commission has made arrangements to mitigate the heat in the polling centres, hoping that the voter turnout will not be affected by the weather conditions.
Separately, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) has issued a red alert for five districts -- Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad, Haveri and Koppal – till May 9.
The 14 segments where polling is set to take place on May 7 are Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere andShimoga.
In the polling centres of these constituencies, the Election Commission has set up tents, provided additional fans and chairs and set up drinking water dispensers and put ambulances on standby in polling centres to ensure that voters do not face heat-related distress.
Incidentally, Kalaburgi district (Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency), has been recording the highest maximum temperature of over 44 degrees Celsius for the past seven days, according to IMD.
Meanwhile, even as Bengalureans awaited the rains with bated breath, the showers skipped the IT hub on May 5.
According to C S Patil, Director of the Meteorological Centre, Bengaluru, IMD, there was only 4 cm of rain in Karnataka on May 5. But the IMD predicts light to moderate rain tomorrow in both Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts.
Maximum temperatures remained steady at an average of 37 degrees Celsius in the city. May 6 too will see a similar maximum temperature range.
While Bengaluru city received 4mm to 30mm rain in the last four days, there was heavy downpour in Hosakote district, which falls under Bengaluru Rural district, particularly on May 3.
According to KSNDMC, on May 3 alone, Hosakote received 79.5mm of rainfall, the highest in Karnataka.
The thunderstorm brought its own share of heartbreaks. In Hosakote district, a 55-year-old woman died when struck by lightning on May 3.
“Rathnama belonged to Ganagalu village. She was taking her goats for grazing in an open field when the incident occurred. Some of her goats – about 15 or so – were also struck by lightning,” Bengaluru Rural Superintendent of Police Mallikarjun Baladandi said.
People also posted on social media about the widespread damage to property caused to rain. According to them, gusty winds and heavy rain in Old Mysuru Region (OMR) had severely damaged banana plantations in the districts of Ramanagara, Mandya, Mysuru and Chamarajanagara.
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Karnataka HC directs to re-verify rejected postal ballots in Sringeri Assembly constituency
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka High Court has directed to re-verify the 279 rejected postal ballots polled in Sringeri Assembly constituency during the 2023 election.
The court has also said that the Returning Officer (RO), depending on the outcome of the re-verification, will have to undertake recounting of the postal ballots and announce the results.
Justice R Nataraj on Monday passed this order, hearing the election petition filed by BJP's defeated candidate D N Jeevaraj, who challenged the election of Congress's T D Rajegowda, who won by 201 votes.
The court, however, has granted a stay for two weeks on this order, on the request from Rajegowda's advocate to enable him to challenge the same before the Supreme Court.
