Heatwave alert in poll-bound north Karnataka, rain predicted in Bengaluru

PTI, May 6, 2024, 8:29 AM IST

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An orange alert for heat wave has been issued in most of the 14 Karnataka districts where Lok Sabha constituencies are going to polls on May 7, as temperatures hit 42 to 44 degrees Celsius in the last couple of days, whereas Bengaluru could get light rains in the coming days.

The Election Commission has made arrangements to mitigate the heat in the polling centres, hoping that the voter turnout will not be affected by the weather conditions.

Separately, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) has issued a red alert for five districts — Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad, Haveri and Koppal – till May 9.

The 14 segments where polling is set to take place on May 7 are Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shimoga.

In the polling centres of these constituencies, the Election Commission has set up tents, provided additional fans and chairs and set up drinking water dispensers and put ambulances on standby in polling centres to ensure that voters do not face heat-related distress.

Incidentally, Kalaburgi district (Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency), has been recording the highest maximum temperature of over 44 degrees Celsius for the past seven days, according to IMD.

Meanwhile, even as Bengalureans awaited the rains with bated breath, the showers skipped the IT hub on May 5.

According to C S Patil, Director of the Meteorological Centre, Bengaluru, IMD, there was only 4 cm of rain in Karnataka on May 5. But the IMD predicts light to moderate rain tomorrow in both Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts.

Maximum temperatures remained steady at an average of 37 degrees Celsius in the city. May 6 too will see a similar maximum temperature range.

While Bengaluru city received 4mm to 30mm rain in the last four days, there was heavy downpour in Hosakote district, which falls under Bengaluru Rural district, particularly on May 3.

According to KSNDMC, on May 3 alone, Hosakote received 79.5mm of rainfall, the highest in Karnataka.

The thunderstorm brought its own share of heartbreaks. In Hosakote district, a 55-year-old woman died when struck by lightning on May 3.

“Rathnama belonged to Ganagalu village. She was taking her goats for grazing in an open field when the incident occurred. Some of her goats – about 15 or so – were also struck by lightning,” Bengaluru Rural Superintendent of Police Mallikarjun Baladandi said.

People also posted on social media about the widespread damage to property caused to rain. According to them, gusty winds and heavy rain in Old Mysuru Region (OMR) had severely damaged banana plantations in the districts of Ramanagara, Mandya, Mysuru and Chamarajanagara.