Evening showers bring joy & misery to North Karnataka

Devotees brave the rain to take part in an annual ritual in Vijayapura on Sunday. DH PHOTOS

Thundershowers on Sunday evening provided some relief from searing heat to people in north Karnataka and coastal districts. It also brought misery to Vijayapura grape growers and residents in low-lying areas in several pockets of the region.

Heavy showers lashed Hubballi-Dharwad twin cities for two hours in the evening, leaving several roads and houses in low-lying areas waterlogged.

The residents of Sadhanakeri, Brahmachaitanya Park, Sampige Nagar, CB Nagar and Jannat Nagar in Dharwad were in for a nightmare as rainwater gushed into their houses after a spell of heavy rain accompanied by thunder activity. Vehicular movement was disrupted on waterlogged Toll Naka and CRF roads.

The hailstorm in Tikota, Vijayapura district, damaged six tonnes of raisin kept in open for drying. The grape growers of Kallakavatagi were planning to take their produce to market in a week or two. Vijayapura city and parts of the district also received thundershowers for the third consecutive day on Sunday.

The Sunday evening showers caused untold hardships to the shop owners of Khade Bazaar in Shahpur area of Belagavi. Rainwater inundated several clothes stores in the area. The ongoing smart city works have only made the matters worse for the traders.

Parts of Gadag and Haveri districts experienced their first pre-monsoon showers of the season.

Uttara Kannada, including Karwar city, Sirsi and Halyal, recorded temperatures in the late-thirties for the best part of the day. But the evening showers cooled the coastal district.

Parts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi also received moderate to heavy spell of rain, along with high intensity winds. Rain, accompanied by strong winds, brought down several electricity poles in Hebri. Power outages were reported from several parts of the twin coastal districts.

Malnad districts - Shivamogga, Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru - also recorded heavy showers with hail stones in the evening.