Kodagu frightened for gusty wind, hundreds of trees uprooted
Electric poles and houses damaged
Madikeri: The Kodagu district is literally frightened because of the gusty wind for the last three days. Before coming back to normal situation due to heavy rainfall for the last two weeks, the people are worried about the wind.
In rural areas, hundreds of trees were uprooted. As the trees fell on electric lines, several electric poles, transformers and even some houses were damaged. The normal life has affected due to power disruption. Major rivers and streams in the district are in spate due to rains with gusty wind. People have been suffering due to cold wave.
Loss incurred
As heavy downpour coupled with gusty wind lashed Suntikoppa and surrounding areas on Saturday night and Sunday, trees were uprooted and electric poles were damaged. Several houses were also damaged. Vehicular movement was hampered in several villages as the trees fell on the roads. Many villages do not have power supply for the last fifteen days. Because of the fear of falling trees, labourers keep themselves inside the houses.
When a tree fell on the house of retired teacher MG Ganapathi at Mallur village in Nakur Shirangala gram panchayat limits, the house roof was damaged and his wife Rukmini sustained head injury in the incident. She was admitted to a private hospital in Mysuru. A Maruti Omni and a bike were also damaged as a shed was damaged due to tree falling in the same village and loss was estimated at Rs 2 lakh.
Wall and the roof of the houses belonging to Ramesh Poojary and Shivaram of Schoolbane in Kodagarahalli gram panchayat limits were damaged when a huge tree fell on them. But no casualty was reported. The roof of another house belonging to waterman Manju was also damaged due to tree falling and the loss was estimated at Rs 50,000. Another house belonging to Muttappa on Madapura road was also damaged when a rosewood tree fell on it. Though the family members were inside the house, no casualty was happened. Trees were also fallen at Kambibane and the officials visited the spots and verified it.
Electric poles and electric wires were damaged at Suntikoppa town, Madapura road, Chettalli road, Nakuru, Kodagarahalli, Kambibane, Kallur, Herur, Horur, Haleri and Kandanakolli roads as huge trees fell on them, incurring loss worth lakhs. Traffic movement on these roads was also affected. Trees were uprooted at Chettalli, Siddapura and Kadagadalu.
As a huge tree was uprooted near MLA Appachchu Ranjan’s house near Madapura, a Madikeri-Somawarpete KSRTC bus escaped in a whisker and a possible tragedy was averted. There were more than 30 passengers in the bus which rammed into a roadside bridge and stopped when the tree fell on the road.
One Omni car was damaged and three passengers inside the car also sustained minor injuries when the branches of a tree fell on it near Kajur on Madapura road. A transformer was damaged when a tree fell on it near Madapura. Now, the tree is being lifted and power line is also being repaired. But the heavy rain is obstructing the relief work.
MLAs visit affected areas
Madikeri MLA MP Appachchu Ranjan visited the rain-affected areas in Somawarpete taluk on Sunday and inspected the damage. He also directed the officials to repair the damaged transformers and electric poles to resume power supply as early as possible.
Meanwhile, Virajapete MLA KG Bopaiah also visited the rain-affected place on Mangaluru road and inspected.
Loss worth crores
The district has incurred loss of private and public properties worth crores in the rains that lashed the district for the last two weeks. Majorly, the MESCOM and PWD have incurred heavy loss. Paddy fields were marooned in the rainwater. With the fear of fungal disease, coffee plantations were also damaged due to tree falling. Tourism and business have affected considerably due to heavy rains. The people and organizations urged the central and state governments to provide more compensation to the district.
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Atishi to be sworn in as Delhi chief minister on Saturday
New Delhi (PTI): Chief Minister-designate Atishi will be sworn in along with her new Council of Ministers during a ceremony at the Raj Niwas on Saturday afternoon that will see AAP form the government in Delhi for the fourth time in a row.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi will take the oath of office at 4.30 pm, officials have said.
The new Council of Ministers announced by the party comprises Sultanpur Majra MLA Mukesh Ahlawat, a new entrant, besides ministers Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Imran Hussain.
Atishi will be the 17th female chief minister of the country.
The officials at the lieutenant governor's office on Friday evening said President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Atishi as the chief minister of Delhi from the date of her being sworn in and has also accepted Arvind Kejriwal's resignation.
The President has also cleared the appointment of five ministers, they added.
According to an AAP leader, the ceremony will be a low-key affair as the mood in the party is not upbeat because of Kejriwal's resignation and also the delays in approvals, leaving little time for preparations.
AAP MLAs met earlier this week and unanimously chose Atishi as the leader of the ruling legislature party.
The party's national convener Kejriwal walked out of the Tihar jail on September 13, after more than five months behind bars in an excise policy case.
In a surprise announcement two days later, Kejriwal said he would resign from the post of the chief minister of Delhi in the wake of the BJP's "mudslinging" against him over corruption.
Kejriwal also announced that he would return to the post only after getting a "certificate of honesty" from Delhi people in the assembly polls.
The tenure of the Atishi government will be brief as the assembly polls in Delhi are due in February next year.
Her government will have to fast-track and give nod to various pending policies and welfare schemes such as the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0 and doorstep delivery of services among others.
In the outgoing Kejriwal government, Atishi held 13 portfolios, including finance, revenue, PWD, power and education.
Rai was in charge of the environment, development and general administration departments, while Bharadwaj looked after the health, tourism and urban development departments among others.
Gahlot held the responsibility of transport, home and women and child development departments, while Hussain was the minister for food and supplies.
AAP sources said the four ministers retained in the new Cabinet are likely to hold their previous portfolios while Ahlawat could be allotted those lying vacant following the resignation of minister Raaj Kumar Anand in April this year.
