‘Widespread’ rain likely in Karnataka over next 5 days: IMD

Heavy rain continues to batter the southern state of Karnataka, particularly in coastal regions, with more downpour predicted for the next five days.

Rain gave no break to the southern state of Karnataka on Tuesday, especially in its coastal regions, with weather agencies predicting heavy downpour for the next five days.

The IMD issued a “yellow” alert over the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada on Monday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) said widespread rain is likely over South Interior Karnataka (SIK), Bidar, Belagavi, Koppala, Kalaburagi, Shivamogga, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Udupi, Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada districts.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also issued a “yellow” alert over the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada on Monday, and said widespread rain is likely over the next five days across the state.

On the other hand, several districts continued to observe a rainfall deficit, prompting senior BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai to urge the government to declare an "agriculture drought".

He also asked the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to provide a grant of ₹1 crore to each constituency to tackle the shortage in drinking water. Several farmers have reduced the sowing of seeds as the monsoon season is yet to kick off in northern parts of the state. Places in north Karnataka and Kalyan Karnataka are awaiting rain.