A storm destroyed houses, rubber and areca plantations worth crores of rupees in Albady, Nagur and Kodi villages at Kundapur taluk in Udupi district on Thursday.
According to the Kundapur Taluk Office, as many as 17 houses were fully damaged, while 80 houses were partially damaged in Albady village in the storm that hit the villages around 3 a.m.
Electricity poles and high tension wires of Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom) were completely damaged due to the storm, and the electricity supply to Albady and nearby villages have been affected. A temple was also damaged in the village as tiles of its roof had been blown away.
The A.B. Shetty Memorial School was also partially damaged. The rubber plantation belonging to the president of Kundapur Taluk Panchayat Deepika Shetty was partially damaged. Arecanut and coconut plantations in the area were partially damaged. Three wells were completely damaged in Albady. As many as five houses were damaged in Kodi village, while 22 houses were partially damaged in Nagur-Kirimanjeshwara village.
Kundapur Tahsildar Gayatri Naik said that eight families, whose houses had been completely damaged, had been shifted to the Ganji Kendra (gruel centre) in Government High School at Albady. All these eight families had been given cheques of Rs. 35,000 each under the Calamities Relief Fund (CRF). Nearly 80 persons had their meals at the Ganji Kendra on Wednesday.
Many arecanut, coconut, and rubber trees had been damaged. Mescom personnel installed 15 electricity poles in an effort to provide electricity as a high tension wire sustained damage in the storm.
Ms. Naik said, “We think the damages to the houses, plantations and other property taken together is about Rs. 1.5 crore. A clear figure would be available only on Friday.”
