1. Heavy Rain Pounds Karnataka, Flood Alert in Affected Districts
With the coastal and other districts of Karnataka receiving heavy rain a flood alert has been sounded in the southern state, officials said on Wednesday.
According to the State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, coastal Udupi district received up to 35.7 cm rain in certain parts over the past 24 hours.
Other coastal districts like Dakshina Kannada received 33.8 cm rain, Uttara Kannada 33.6 cm, south interior districts of Kodagu 28.8 cm, Chikkamagaluru 25.1 cm, Hassan 24.5 cm and Shivamogga 33.6 cm.
“Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy directed Deputy Commissioners of Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts, which are receiving heavy rain over the last few days, to be prepared to take up relief work,” a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Man Washed Away in a Stream in Udupi Due to Heavy Rains
Heavy rains lashing the coastal districts in Karnataka took the life of one more person in Udupi district on Wednesday taking the death toll to two ever since the rains began earlier this week.
The incident occurred despite the rains receding in the district on Wednesday.
Santhoor Poojary, a resident of Siddapura in Kundapur taluk of Udupi was washed away in the rain in his village.
"In all, two persons have died due to the rains. We are on alert for the situation worsening and are ready with boats to evacuate residents," Bhoobalan, Assistant Commissioner, Kundapur told TNM.
(Source: The News Minute)
3. Troubles Galore for Passengers Stranded at KIA
Diversion of four flights to Bengaluru after the closure of the Kochi airport triggered massive problems for passengers at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Wednesday. Among the worst affected were over 600 international passengers from Sharjah and Doha, who were initially left clueless about reaching their destinations in Kerala.
Trouble had started early Wednesday morning soon after the Cochin International Airport was closed for four days in the wake of unprecedented rainfall. As Kochi-bound passengers reached KIA, they were told that Air Asia, IndiGo, SpiceJet and IndiGo flights were all cancelled. By evening, the cancelled list had grown to 12 arrival flights and 16 departure flights.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
4. Gauri Lankesh Murder Case: SIT Invokes Organised Crimes Act
The Special Investigation Team probing the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh on Tuesday invoked the stringent Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act (KCOCA) against all the accused in the case.
The SIT has invoked Section 3 of the KCOCA, which defines the punishment for organised crime. The SIT has arrested 12 people in connection with the case so far, while 13 have been named accused. Other 3-4 accused persons are yet to be traced and arrested.
The New Indian Express was the first to report in its 4th June edition that the SIT is likely to invoke stringent acts such as Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and KCOCA in the case, considering the modus operandi of the accused and the gravity of the offence they had committed.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
5. Alert KSRTC Driver Saves Passengers From Blaze
As many as 20 passengers aboard a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus had a miraculous escape after the driver saw smoke spewing out of the engine from his rear view mirror while driving on the ITI flyover in KR Puram on Wednesday morning.
The driver, Kumaraswamy, quickly parked the bus on the side of the road and started evacuating the passengers to safety. According to witnesses, a few minutes later, the bus was engulfed in flames.
The incident occurred around 5 am when the sleeper coach bus was heading to Majestic from Tirupati via KR Puram.
(Source: The Hindu)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)