Heavy rain pounds Karnataka, flood alert in affected districts
Bengaluru, Aug 15 : With the coastal and other districts of Karnataka receiving heavy rain a flood alert has been sounded in the southern state, officials said on Wednesday.
According to the State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, coastal Udupi district received up to 35.7 cm rain in certain parts over the past 24 hours.
Other coastal districts like Dakshina Kannada received 33.8 cm rain, Uttara Kannada 33.6 cm, south interior districts of Kodagu 28.8 cm, Chikkamagaluru 25.1 cm, Hassan 24.5 cm and Shivamogga 33.6 cm.
"Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy directed Deputy Commissioners of Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts, which are receiving heavy rain over the last few days, to be prepared to take up relief work," a statement from the Chief Minister's Office said.
He also directed officials to visit the affected districts and assess the losses.
The northern parts of the state also received light to moderate rainfall.
The Chief Minister ordered preventive steps to avoid mishaps and inconvenience to the public due to floods and landslides.
Due to the heavy rain, landslides were reported since Monday in several parts of Karnataka, particularly on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru route, leading to suspension of services of several state-run buses and trains since Tuesday night.
Landslides were reported in Sakleshpur sub-district in the Western Ghats mountains in Hassan district, obstructing vehicular movement from Bengaluru to Mangaluru.
Six trains, including the Karwar-Yeshwanthpur Express and the Yeshwanthpur-Mangalore Junction Express, were partially cancelled and a few other trains diverted since Tuesday evening due to the landslides, the South Western Railway said in a statement.
"All premium bus services from Bengaluru towards Mangaluru, Dharmasthala (in Dakshina Kannada district), and Kundapura (in Udupi district) have been cancelled due to landslides owing to heavy rain," the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation said.
With the state's reservoirs in the Cauvery basin filled to capacity due to the bountiful rains over two months, the incessant rains now are causing rivers to overflow.
In the Cauvery basin, water from the Krishna Raja Sagara reservoir across the Cauvery river in Mandya district, Kabini reservoir in Mysuru district across Kabini river, one of the major tributaries of Cauvery, is being released over the past few days, flooding nearby towns and villages.
"About 1.2 lakh cusecs of rainwater was released from the KRS reservoir and another 50,000 cusecs from the Kabini reservoir as of 6 p.m. on Wednesday," Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G. Shankar told IANS.
The released water has been flooding several farmlands and roads in the villages and towns around the reservoirs.
Due to high waves and heavy winds, the Bengaluru division of India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its weather advisory asked the fishermen to avoid venturing into the Arabian Sea.
The heavy rain in the coastal and south interior districts will continue for the next couple of days, the IMD said.
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AQI 'poor', 'very poor' in several parts of Haryana, Punjab
Chandigarh (PTI): The AQI in several places in Haryana and some in neighbouring Punjab was recorded in the 'poor' and 'very poor' categories on Friday, the morning after Diwali.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the Union Territory of Chandigarh was also in the 'very poor' category.
At 9 am on Friday, the AQI was recorded at 344 in Haryana's Gurugram, 340 in Jind, 308 in Ambala and 304 in Kurukshetra, according to the Sameer app that provides hourly updates of the national AQI published by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', 401 and 450 'severe' and above 450 'severe plus'.
Among other places in Haryana, the AQI was recorded at 289 in Bahadurgarh, 224 in Ballabhgarh, 288 in Bhiwani, 228 in Charkhi Dadri, 236 in Faridabad, 248 in Fatehabad, 252 in Hisar, 232 in Karnal, 251 in Panchkula, 272 in Rohtak, 259 in Sonipat, 217 in Sirsa and 265 in Yamunanagar.
Chandigarh's AQI was recorded at 303.
In Punjab, Amritsar's AQI was also in the 'very poor' category with a reading of 314.
The AQI in Mandi Gobindgarh was at 331, Khanna at 308, Jalandhar at 253, Ludhiana at 214 and Patiala at 260.
The authorities had granted permission to burn only green crackers for a restricted period on Diwali.
In Chandigarh, the twin capital of Punjab and Haryana, green crackers were allowed between 8 pm and 10 pm. However, in many parts of the city, people continued to burst crackers well past the 10 pm limit.
The Punjab government had recently said only green crackers would be allowed during Diwali, Gurpurab, Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Only green crackers, which are free from barium salts or compounds of antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic, lead or strontium chromate, are permitted for sale and use in Punjab, an official statement had said earlier.
