Mangalore, Jun 3: The monsoons have arrived three days earlier than expected, marking the end of the hot summer and making people heave sighs of relief. True to the Met Department’s prediction, the rains, which commenced on June 2, continued on June 3, forcing students, parents, caregivers, and employers to rush to work and school under umbrellas and in raincoats.
Commuters are facing a number of difficulties because of half-constructed roads scattered all over the city. Lack of footpaths and proper drains have made walking along the roads life threatening for most pedestrians.
Although the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) had assured people that it has made all preparations to face the challenges of the rainy season, people are forced to wade through ankle-deep water and struggle to walk on poorly constructed roads in the absence of footpaths. Moreover, the potholes, which become invisible when the streets get flooded with water makes it difficult for motorists to drive along the road.
The conditions in Udupi are more or less similar. Artificial flooding along the Kundapur to Suratkal stretch of NH 66 is causing a lot of inconvenience to citizens.
Since work on NH 66 is in progress, the storm water drains are half constructed, and the floods are causing a lot of damage to farms, shops, and homes along NH 66. The civic body in Udupi has urged workmen to clear all storm water drains in its 36 wards.
The district administration of Udupi called a meeting on June 2, Thursday to discuss preparations for the rainy season.
DC M. T. Reju said that 24-hour control rooms will be set up to deal with monsoon-related problems.
To make matters worse, the soil is getting eroded in places where Mescom had dug holes to erect electricity poles, and the DC has instructed Mescom to complete the work at the earliest possible.