Schools and colleges in Kodagu continue to remain closed with no let-up in rains that have been lashing the district for the past several days affecting normal life.
The district administration has extended the holiday for schools, colleges and anganwadi centers till Saturday following forecast of heavy downpour. Orange alert has been declared till Saturday.
Participating in a video conference chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Deputy Commissioner B.C. Satish said Kodagu recorded 57 per cent rains in June but in a span of one week in July, received 81 per cent rains. Despite landslips, steps have been taken for unhindered movement of traffic.
He told the Chief Minister that tremors were felt in parts of Kodagu recently. The tremors were felt seven times over the last few days at Karike, Chembu, Peraje and Sampaje villages. Minister for Revenue R. Ashok and district officials visited the villages and spoke to the locals in a bid to bring confidence in them that there was no need to panic.
In Kodagu, 65 houses have so far been partially damaged in rains and two were fully damaged. Steps have been taken for disbursing relief to the affected, he said.
Mysore-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha visited rain-affected areas and also held a meeting with the officials on the rain situation. He inspected the Mangaluru-Madikeri Highway which faced landslips.
He told the CESC engineers to restore power supply affected by the rains.
A CESC engineer told the meeting that 962 electric poles and 132 transformers were damaged in the rain. As many as 1,000 poles have been kept ready for replacement in case of further damage to the infrastructure.
Madikeri MLA Appachu Ranjan told the meeting that some villages are without electricity for the past one week.
Mr. Ranjan also complained that the retaining wall of the Kodagu DC office was losing strength due to water seepage and sought repair after monsoon.
PWD engineers told the meeting that suitable action will be taken after discussing with experts on why the retaining wall has engorged.
A landslip has occurred near the hockey ground and the area has been barricaded for the protection of vehicles. Another landslip was reported in Monnangeri.
Nine houses were partially damaged in the rains in the last 24 hours. In total, 31 electric poles were damaged on Friday.
Meanwhile, the inflow into Harangi dam continues to remain high following heavy rains in its catchment areas. The inflow was 11,317 cusecs and the outflow was 12,547 cusecs on Friday. The level stood at 2,853 feet as against the maximum of 2,859 feet. The district recorded 227 mm rain in the last 24 hours.
