Six buried alive in landslide, rain batters Karnataka dists

Bangalore, July 4 (UNI) Six people, including two children, were buried alive in a major landslide in Madikeri town in the hilly Kodagu district, even as Southwest monsoon continued to bring widespread rainfall in coastal districts and Ghat areas of Karnataka, swelling major rivers, today.

Torrential rains lashed most parts of coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi and ghat areas in Kodagu, Belgaum, Chikmagalur and Shimoga districts.

Two houses on a hill slope were razed to the ground, killing six people on the outskirts of Madikeri town. The deceased included two girls, aged three and nine years, while a 17-year-old girl survived miraculously.

Many rivers, including Kabini, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha, Hiranyakeshi, Markandeya, Lakshmanatheertha, Ramatheertha and Kumaradhara, were in spate, but had not reached the danger level, revenue officials said.

The weather office had issued a warning to fishermen of strong offshore winds from westerly direction with speed reaching 55-60 km along the coast. It also forecast very heavy rain at isolated places and moderate to heavy rain in most places all over the districts of coastal Karnataka and ghat areas of South Interior Karnataka, Belgaum district and many places over remaining districts of North and South Interior Karnataka for the next two days.

Many places in Chikmagalur district, which bore the brunt of vigorous monsoon, received heavy rains, with Kalasa recording the heaviest amount of rain at 21 cm in the State. Kammardi and Sringeri, in the same district, received 16 cm rains each.

Meanwhile, in the State Assembly, Revenue Minister Jagadish Shetter assured the House that relief and rehabilitation work would be taken up on a war footing. The Government also announced Rs 50,000 each to the two bereaved families.

MORE UNI TEAM-RS GD YA KP2024