Rain brings mercury levels down in parts of Karnataka; pepper crop hit in Kodagu

News Network

March 25, 2022

Mar 25: Many parts of the state received showers, accompanied by strong winds and thunder activity, bringing respite from the sweltering heat, yesterday.

Two shepherds and more than 15 sheep suffered burns in a lightning strike at Alagawadi in Navalgund taluk. After weeks of soaring temperatures, many parts of Dharwad district, including Hubballi-Dharwad twin cities experienced thundershowers in the evening. The sudden showers caught daily wagers and office-goers returning home unawares.

Alnawar town and surrounding areas also received sharp rains.

Several places in Davanagere district, including Channagiri, Santebennur, Nyamathi and Mayakonda witnessed mild to moderate rain on Thursday evening.

Tree fall incidents and uprooting of electricity poles were reported in Hassan city, Belur and Sakleshpur taluks following the overnight rains, accompanied by high intensity winds. A vegetable stall and the compound wall of M Krishna school for the visually impaired were damaged after branches of trees fell on them in Hassan.

While the first rains of the season have brought joy to coffee growers in Belur taluk, a short spell of thundershowers has left banana growers in Srirangapatna taluk worried. The Wednesday night showers has rendered about 70% of the ready-to-harvest banana waste at Neeralakere village.

In Chamarajanagar district, rains in the recent past have damaged about 37 acres of banana crop. At many places, plants have been uprooted in strong winds that swept across Chamarajanagar and Gundlupet taluks, last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the untimely rain has left pepper growers in Kodagu in crisis. The ripe pepper is wilting in wet weather. While pepper farmers pray for dry weather, coffee growers want skies to open up to help blossoming of flowers.

Many parts of Tumakuru also experienced mild to moderate showers on Thursday.

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Why Mangaluru Could Become India’s Next Offshore Wind Energy Hub

News Network

February 3,2026

Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta has urged the Centre to give high priority to offshore wind energy generation along the Mangaluru coast, citing its strategic importance to India’s green energy and port-led development goals.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha under Rule 377, Chowta said studies by the National Institute of Oceanography have identified the Mangaluru coastline as part of India’s promising offshore wind ‘Zone-2’, covering nearly 6,490 sq km. He noted that the region’s relatively low exposure to cyclones and earthquakes makes it suitable for long-term offshore wind projects and called for its development as a dedicated offshore wind energy zone.

Highlighting the role of New Mangalore Port, Chowta said its modern infrastructure, multiple berths and heavy cargo-handling capacity position it well as a logistics hub for transporting and assembling large wind energy equipment.

He also pointed to the presence of major industrial units such as MRPL, OMPL, UPCL and the Mangaluru SEZ, which could serve as direct buyers of green power through power purchase agreements, improving project viability and speeding up execution.

With Karnataka’s peak power demand crossing 18,000 MW in early 2025, Chowta stressed the need to diversify renewable energy sources. He added that offshore wind projects in the Arabian Sea are strategically safer compared to the cyclone-prone Bay of Bengal.

Calling the project vital to India’s target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, Chowta urged the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to initiate resource assessments, pilot projects and stakeholder consultations at the earliest.

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