Rain abates in Dakshina Kannada; Nethravathi still above danger level at Bantwal

MANGALURU: There was a breather for people of Dakshina Kannada District on Wednesday as rains abated till evening, but sky presented a dark picture indicating rains at night.
Barring a few non-threatening showers that last a few minutes, the district was dry and also had a brief moments of sunshine in the morning.
But movement between the state capital and the coast has been severely hampered with KSRTC operating skeletal non-premium services on Charmadi Ghat route, with both alternate routes Shiradi and Sampaje being closed for traffic due to landslides and road damage.Only non-AC sleeper, Rajahamsa and express buses would ply over Charmadi route, said KSRTC officials.
The Platforms accommodating buses to Bengaluru and Mysuru at the KSRTC Bus Stand, Bejai in Mangaluru, wore a deserted look with premium services being cancelled since Shiradi and Sampaje ghats were closed for heavy traffic.
The district recorded 113mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours from 8.30am of Tuesday. Belthangady Taluk received the highest rainfall of 184mm, with Mangaluru taluk receiving the least at 63mm of rainfall. Sullia, Puttur and Bantwal taluks received 99mm, 129mm and 91mm of rainfall respectively.
Last year the district had received a paltry 0.2mm of rainfall. The cumulative rainfall for the month till Wednesday is 704mm, which is just 150mm short of the normal average for the month with another fortnight to go. Last year, the district had received 279mm of rainfall till August 15.
As on Wednesday, the water level in Nethravathi River at Bantwal was 9.8 meters well above the danger level of 8.5 meters. The water level of Nethravathi River at Uppinangady and Kumaradhara River were closing the danger marks at 25 meters each with danger levels being 28.5 meters and 29.5 meters respectively.