Residents of Mangaluru heaved a sigh of relief as rain took a break on Wednesday even as several low-lying areas continued to be waterlogged.
While the Mangaluru City Corporation should have undertaken clearing of storm-water drains before the onset of monsoon, not many drains had been cleared this time. As the rainwaters receded on Wednesday, it was found that major drains around Kottara Chowki that witnessed heavy waterlogging on Tuesday were not cleared of vegetation and silt. Similar was the case with many other drains across the city.
Many areas in Jeppinamogaru, a suburb lying on the east of the National Highway 66 close to the Netravathi, continued to witness waterlogging on Wednesday. Coming up on low-lying marshy and agricultural land, the locality has been prone to waterlogging because of its location.
Choked drains added to the woes of residents while the district administration on Wednesday planned to deploy water pumps to drain out water. Residents of the area complained that area councillor Surendra was not reachable on his mobile phone since Tuesday. They claimed that blockage of a major drain passing between a school and now-closed bar and restaurant has aggravated waterlogging in the locality.
Meanwhile, a portion of a retaining structure around the construction site of a multi-storey building posed threat to an adjoining residential premises on Falnir Road on Wednesday. The builder of the multi-storey building had excavated earth to a large extent and provided retaining pillars, a portion of which collapsed in heavy rain.
Various agencies, including personnel from the corporation, Fire and Emergency Services, National Disaster Relief Force and others, were engaged in clearing obstacles in storm-water drains after rainwaters receded. The personnel were focussing on areas, including Kottara Cowki, Malemar, Pumpwell, Jeppinamogaru, Kudroli-Alake and surrounding areas, that witnessed heavy waterlogging.
Power infrastructure also took a beating on account of rain. More than 1,200 electricity poles were damaged across the district on Tuesday even as the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company is working to restore them.
An electricity tower of a high-tension line providing power supply from Mulki to areas around Kinnigoli toppled on Tuesday. MESCOM restored power supply in the region by Wednesday morning.
