Unseasonal rains lash several parts of Karnataka

Several parts of Karnataka have been receiving unseasonal rains, damaging a variety of crops in countryside and forcing people to remain indoors in the urban areas.

Though the rains, which have been lashing southern and coastal parts of the State intermittently since the last one week, had brought down the mercury levels, which had begun soaring, the downpour has also caused anxiety among the farmers over the safety of their crops.

Agriculture department officials said coffee crop in several parts of Kodagu, Hassan and Chikmagalur would be hit severely on account of the rains. Similiarly, the rains in Mysore and adjoining areas will cause damage to mangoes and bring down the yield this year.

The present bout of unseasonal rains have been attributed to low pressure in the Arabian Sea off the Kerala-Karnataka coast. Meteorological Department officials have predicted more rainfall for the next 24 to 48 hours in the region.

Meanwhile, Bangalore, which received as much as 94.5 mm rainfall of a single day last week, is experiencing a massive fluctuation in temperature on account of the rainfall. The temperatures, which had soared to 32.6 degrees before the rains began, had plummeted to a minimum of 14.4 degrees.
The rains have also thrown vehicular traffic out of gear in several areas on account of the collapsed electricity and telephone poles in several parts of the City.