Chikkamagaluru: The heavy rain forced schools and colleges to shut in four taluks of Chikkamagaluru and two taluks of Hassan district on Monday. Classes will resume on Tuesday depending on the weather forecast. Seeing the heavy rain, Chikkamagaluru Deputy Commissioner, Sreerangaiah ordered closure of schools and colleges in Sringeri, Mudigere, Narashimaraja Pura and Koppa taluks. In all, 500 schools closed in the four taluks on Monday for the safety of the primary school children , who could find it hard to commute back and forth from them in the rain. However, with the rain receding by afternoon the office of the Deputy Director of Public Instructions (DDPI) said the schools could resume on Tuesday, but it depended on the orders of Mr Sreerangaiah. As many as 400 schools in Sakleshpur and Alur taluks of Hassan shut for the day following heavy rainfall on the orders of Deputy Commissioner, PC Jaffer. The officials concerned will review the situation on Tuesday before taking a decision on resuming the schools and colleges. A private school in Sakleshpur which functioned as usual despite the orders of the deputy commissioner, received a warning from the Block Education Officer that it would be held responsible for any untoward incident involving its students on account of the rain.
The school management , however, said many children had already come to school in the rain and so it decided to work as usual.
Showers cause landslides in Hassan
A landslide following heavy rain in the Western Ghats brought mud, boulders and trees crashing down on railway tracks between Yedakumari and Kanagavalli stations in Sakleshpur, Hassan, bringing all train services on the route to a halt on Monday.
The landslide was reported at at least two different spots between Yedakumari and Kanagavalli, according to railway officials.
Passengers travelling on the Yeshwanthpur-Mangaluru train had to be get off at Hassan railway station and their fares were partially reimbursed as they could no longer go on owing to the landlside.
They were later allowed to continue their journeys for free to various destinations in Hassan, going by a railway official. Another train from Mangaluru to Yeshwanthpur via Sakleshpur was diverted to Bengaluru via Palaghat and Coimbatore owing to the landslide in Sakleshpur.
Fortunately for the passengers, locals noticed the landslide blocking the tracks in the Ghats at around 8.30 am and informed the railway officials, who rushed to the spot to clear the debris.
An official said it would take about eight hours for the staff to clear the tracks as the rain had not stopped. “The rain hasn't stopped but our staff are at work to clear the route,” he added.
Another railway official explained that landslides were common in the region, which received heavy rainfall. “Every year at least a couple of incidents are reported on this route. It is beyond our control and passengers have to regretfully put up with the inconvenience,” he added.
