Rains stop in north, central Karnataka, toll 17

BANGALORE - People in several north and central Karnataka districts had a respite Saturday after a week of heavy rains that claimed 17 lives and damaged property and crops estimated at over Rs.150 crore, officials said.

Bellary, Raichur, Gulbarga, Bidar, Dharwad, Koppal and Haveri in the north, Davangere in central part and Shimoga in Malnad region were hit by heavy rains in the last seven days with rivers and tanks and lakes overflowing.

Revenue officials of the districts said four people had died in Bellary, three each in Bidar and Gulbarga, two in Raichur and one each in Dharwad, Shimoga, Tumkur, Koppal, and Haveri.

Several hundred houses have been damaged in the rain-battered areas. Crops in over 25,000 acres had also been hit, they said, adding that precise estimates of the damage will be available after a detailed assessment.

“The loss would be over Rs.150 crore,” an official spokesperson said in Bangalore.

The monsoon which hit the state in the first week of June has been erratic and the last week’s heavy downpour in large areas brought relief also as several reservoirs got good inflow.