The district authorities in Kodagu were on their toes on Wednesday as many trees were uprooted in several parts of the district following torrential downpour accompanied by gusty wind. The trees blocked roads, affecting vehicular movement.
Meanwhile, an orange alert has been declared in Kodagu till Thursday morning.
A giant tree fell on a building at Stuart Hill in Madikeri, damaging the structure. Another tree fell on the stretch between Shanivarasanthe-Kodlipet State Highway, affecting traffic movement. However, the Shanivarasanthe Forest Range personnel rushed to the spot and cleared the tree to facilitate vehicle movement.
Somwarpet taluk has reported incidents of uprooting of trees. A house was damaged after a tree fell on the house belonging to one Tangamma at Kannandabane.
An 11 KV trunk line at Igur was damaged after a huge tree fell on it. The incident happened near Koverkolly estate junction in Somwarpet limits.
The landslide debris that had blocked the stretch of Made-Cherambane Road was cleared using earthmovers.
84 school buildings damaged
Deputy Commissioner B..C Satish on Wednesday said 84 school buildings and two anganwadi centres have suffered damage in the recent rains. In total, 1,116 electric poles and 132 transformers were damaged.
So far this year, 114 per cent of rainfall has been recorded in Kodagu. In the previous years, 116.73 per cent rainfall (in 2019), 105.86 per cent rainfall (in 2020) and 97.32 per cent rainfall (in 2021) was recorded. Compared to the last two years, the amount of rainfall recorded was slightly higher, according to the district administration.
All five taluks – Madikeri, Virajpet, Somwarpet, Kushalnagar and Ponnampet – reported damage to houses due to rains. In total, 63 houses are partially damaged, 15 badly damaged while two houses were damaged completely in the rain and landslips.
So far, ₹10.53 lakh relief has been distributed to 14 families whose houses were badly damaged. Also, 51 families received ₹ 2.65 lakh compensation as their houses were partially damaged in the rains that lashed the district over the last several days.
Two families whose houses were fully damaged in rains have received a sum of ₹95,100 each, Mr. Satish said.
The personnel of Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) have continued their efforts to restore power supply in some parts of Kodagu, replacing damaged electric poles and transformers in the rain-affected villages. Some villages are facing power outages owing to damage caused to the transmission lines.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had directed the district administration to pay the relief immediately to the affected persons. He said ₹5 lakh would be given for a collapsed house, ₹3 lakh for a badly-damaged house, and ₹50,000 for a partially-damaged house. An interim relief of ₹10,000 has been handed over to all affected persons, he added.
He also directed the engineers of CESC to ensure restoration of power supply in rural areas by stepping up work of replacing electric poles and transformers. .
