CHENNAI: In the Dakshina Kannada district, schools were closed for a second day on Thursday due to heavy rainfall, according to Deputy Commissioner K V Rajendra.
The torrential downpour caused by low pressure in the Bay of Bengal has thrown normal life in the district out of whack since Wednesday. To ensure the safety of schoolchildren, all government, aided, and unaided elementary and secondary schools were closed on Thursday.
The Deputy Commissioner said, the decision was made in light of the diifficulties faced by students in rural areas. He said the status quo can be maintained if children attend schools in metropolitan regions. Meanwhile, as heavy rains continued in the twin coastal districts, Udupi Deputy Commissioner M Kurma Rao directed schools to consider declaring a holiday.
The government warned that extremely heavy rain could fall in isolated areas across the twin districts on May 20, encouraging farmers to postpone their farming work for two to three days.
Arecanutr Farmers have been advised to prepare plans to drain excess rainwater from their groves. Also, Fishermen have been advised not to go out into the sea for the next 24 hours because squally winds with gusts up to 60 kmph are expected to dominate around the coast.
Heavy rain is expected in the coastal region on May 21, although no weather warnings have been issued for May 22 and 23.
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