Rain relents, schools in Kodagu reopened

THE DECISION TO OPEN THE SCHOOLS AFTER NEARLY TWO WEEKS WAS THE FIRST SIGN OF THE DISTRICT LIMPING BACK TO NORMAL AFTER BATTLING RAIN FURY

BENGALURU: With a respite from rain, Karnataka’s Kodagu district began picking up pieces as 657 of the 718 schools in the region reopened on Thursday after a period of around two weeks, officials familiar with the matter said.

In the past week, the Keralabordering district had witnessed heavy rainfall, which claimed 16 lives and resulted in large-scale destruction. According to the Indian Metrological Department (IMD), the rainfall recorded so far this month has already broken an 87-year-old record for August, with the district receiving 1,675 mm rainfall in the past 23 days.

Against this backdrop, the decision to open the schools so that students’ studies don’t get further hampered was the first sign of the district limping back to normal after battling the weather fury.

Walter D’mello, the deputy director of public instruction for the district said, the decision to open the schools was taken considering the let up in rain.

Among the 61 schools in the district that remain closed, some are being used as relief camps and others have been damaged or made inaccessible due to the rain, D’mello said. “We have also begun taking classes for children at all the relief camps because we do not want the children to suffer,” he added.

The disaster management authority of the state, meanwhile, issued a clarifictation refuting claims that an earthquake on July 9 had caused the landslides witnessed in the state in the past week.

Citing the incessant rains as the reason for the landslides, the authority said in a statement that experts had been consulted in the immediate aftermath of the tremor. “Earthquake-induced landslides occur immediately after the tremor,” the authority said, adding that an inspection had been conducted in the area on July 25.