911 houses damaged due to natural calamities in Dakshina Kannada since April: DDMA

Natural calamities damage 911 houses in Dakshina Kannada, prompting action from District Disaster Management Authority.

As many as 911 houses were damaged in natural calamities in Dakshina Kannada during the last over two-and-a-half-month period, according to the District Disaster Management Authority.

According to the data provided by the authority on Wednesday, 829 houses were partially damaged and 82 houses were fully damaged from April 1 to June 18. Of them, 126 houses, two of them fully, were damaged so far in June alone. As many as 705 houses were partially damaged, and 80 houses were fully damaged in April and May.

According to the India Meteorological Department, the Southwest monsoon advanced over coastal Karnataka and parts of interior south Karnataka when it entered Kerala on May 24, a week ahead of its normal onset.

At a meeting presided over by Dinesh Gundu Rao, Minister in charge of Dakshina Kannada, at the Deputy Commissioner’s office on Wednesday, the outgoing Deputy Commissioner M. P. Mullai Muhilan said that horticultural crops on 5.384 hectares and agricultural crops on 2.43 hectares were affected due to the rains.

The Minister had called the meeting to review the damages to properties due to the natural calamities.

At the meeting, the Minister directed Belthangady officials to file a case against two persons from Savanalu village under the Kudremukh Wildlife range for riding their two-wheeler across a swollen river, disregarding warnings and thereby risking their lives.

When an official informed that the two tried to cross the road where the river was overflowing, Mr. Rao said such violators need to be booked. “We need to send out a strong message,” Mr. Rao said. The Deputy Commissioner said a case will be booked against the two.