Mangaluru: Low-lying areas of Mangaluru, especially Kottara Chowki, Kodialguthu West Malemar and interior places of Jappinamogaru and other areas got flooded on Friday, after the city received incessant rain.Kottara Chowki , which is a major junction that connects the city to the Mangaluru-Udupi National Highway, got flooded again due to lack of proper stormwater drain, in the morning. As a result, traffic on the Mangaluru -Udupi route was affected for some time, but the issue was later resolved by Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) workers. An overflowing stormwater drain blocked the Kodialguthu West road for a few hours in the morning. The road was later opened in the afternoon when the rain receded.Prominent pilgrimage centres like the Kukke Sri Subrahmanya Temple and Dharmastala Manjunatha Temple, witnessed low footfalls due to heavy rain. The water level at snanaghattas (bathing places) near both temples increased. Devotees were warned against swimming in the Nethravati river at Dharmastala and Kumaradhara at the Kukke temple.Mangaluru City South MLA Vedavyas Kamath blamed urban locals for not taking action against buildings that were built in a manner that blocked rajakaluves. He told reporters that stormwater drains are blocked at many places, but the city corporation is yet to take measures. “I have spoken to deputy commissioner S Sasikanth Senthil and sought a permanent solution for the flooding issue at Kottara Chowki. I have also directed officials of the MCC to clear stormwater drains immediately. Similarly, low-lying areas at many places in the city have been witnessing flooding during heavy rain,” he added.Due to late running of pairing train, service of train 16518 Kannur-Mangaluru Central-KSR Bengaluru tri-weekly express scheduled to leave Kannur at 4.40pm on Friday was rescheduled to leave Kannur at 12am on Saturday. The train is scheduled to reach Mangaluru Central at 2am on Saturday, and after attaching the link train (train 16524) coming from Karwar, is scheduled to leave for Bengaluru on its regular route. Train 16524 Karwar-Mangaluru Central-KSR Bengaluru tri weekly express scheduled to leave Karwar at 2.55pm was also rescheduled to leave Karwar at 9.30pm.Holiday for Schools Due to rain forecast, leave has been declared for schools and PU colleges in Dakshina Kannada district on Saturday, said deputy commissioner S Sasikanth Senthil. “Water levels in rivers is increasing intermittently. Hence, we are watching closely,” he added.

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