Karnataka - Hassan   

Rain destroys 220 houses

Disintegrated: A partially collapsed house in Saraswathipuram slum in Arsikere town on Sunday.

HASSAN: Following torrential rain in Hassan, Arsikere, Sakleshpur, Alur, Chennaraypatna and Belur taluks, more than 220 houses collapsed and 180 irrigation tanks breached, with more than 450 km of road damaged, said Deputy Commissioner K.H. Aswathanarayana Gowda here on Sunday.

The tanks that have been breached include: Nayakara Halli, Markuli, Kaushika, Ambuga, Banavasi, Anchehalli, Huduvari, Kithhane, and Mosale — all in Hassan taluk, Mavinur, and Agasarahatti in Alur taluk. In other taluks, tanks had developed cracks, with most of them overflowing, flooding paddy fields.

The Deputy Commissioner said that in Arsikere alone 120 houses had collapsed. No casualties have been reported from anywhere in the district. A detailed report would be sent to Governor soon, he added.

Never in the history of Arsikere (a taluk known for drought), has such rain been reported. The worst affected areas are: Hassan Road slum, Parvathi Nagar, Saraswathipuram, Srinivasa Nagar, Anche Koppalu and Indira Nagar.

Hassan Road slum is in a low-lying area. More than 25 huts have been destroyed and household articles washed away. Its inmates have taken refuge in a nearby school. Food arrangements were made for them on Sunday and a Ganji Kendra has been opened there.

Saraswathipuram is another slum located in a low-lying area. Here the drains had overflowed resulting in flooding of houses. Its residents complained of complete disinterest shown by their elected representatives in their welfare. Nagathihalli tank in the taluk has been overflowing, severely affecting standing crops in about 50 acres of land in the area. Chikkoor tank in Banavar Hobli has also been overflowing, resulting in huge damage.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Rain destroys 220 houses
LA police inspect taluk office
Elephant menace in three taluks of Hassan
Appointment
Rain destroys 220 houses

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu