Rains continue wreak havoc in Malnad: Woman dies when wall of cowshed collapses
Chikmagaluru, July 10: The land of coffee has literally become the land of rains. Because of heavy rains, the normal life has gone haywire in Malnad.
Heavy downpour is wreaking havoc everywhere due to which a wall of cowshed which was in dilapidated condition collapsed on a woman killing her on the spot. Reports on collapse of houses, landslides, obstruction of vehicular movement were coming in from all corners of the district. Due to heavy rains, the major rivers like Hemavathi, Tunga, Bhadra and other small streams are overflowing above the danger level in the district. The rain which started on last Friday has been lashing out continuously since then. As a result, the normal life in malnad is paralysed. Mudigere, Koppa, Sringeri and NR Pura taluks in the district have been receiving heavy rains causing damage to private and public properties.
Because of the heavy downpour in Koppa taluk, a house belonging to Raghu was collapsed at Devaramane village in Hariharapura hobli in the taluk on Monday night. But no casualties were reported. It is said that the loss worth lakhs was occurred in the incident.
As the magnitude of the rain has increased Sringeri taluk, the Tunga river water submerged the agriculture fields on the bank of the river causing heavy loss. As Tunga river water marooned the Gandhi Maidan in the temple town, vehicular movement and parking was disturbed. The life of petty shop owners were greatly affected as the water gushed into the shops. The heavy rains created alarming situation as the river might cause flood at any time. So, the taluk administration has already shifted the people down the line to the safer places. Gandhi maidan was completely submerged in the rainwater. People opine that after 20 years, the town has been receiving such a heavy rains this time.
Woman dies in cowshed wall collapse
A woman died on the spot when the wall of cowshed which was in dilapidated condition collapsed on her at Kambihalli village near Mallandur in Chikmagalur taluk on Monday night. The woman was identified as Vanaja (48). When the woman was working in the cowshed, the wall collapsed on her killing her on the spot. With the death of Vanaja, the death toll increased to three in this rainy season in the district. Earlier, two farmers died in the rain-related incidents. One farmer Umesh swept away in Tunga river at Sringeri and another farmer Surendra fell into an agriculture pond and died.
Set-back to farming activities
As the district is receiving heavy downpour every day, the agriculture activities of coffee, areca and paddy witnessed a set-back. Now, the farmers are fearing of losing their areca crops due to fungal and yellow leaf disease. During this time, the areca trees should be sprayed pesticides. But because of heavy rains, the farmers are unable to take up the work. This might cause fungal disease for areca in Malnad region. In the same way, the rain affected the paddy and coffee cultivation as well.
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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
