Driver killed after autorickshaw falls into overflowing stormwater drain in Mangaluru

Autorickshaw driver killed in Mangaluru after falling into stormwater drain, leading to flooding and property damage due to heavy rains.

An autorickshaw driver was killed after his three-wheeler fell into an overflowing stormwater drain amid heavy rains at Kottara Chowki in Mangaluru on Friday (May 24) night.

Police gave his name as Deepak Acharya, 42, from Kottara Chowki. The incident took place at about 11 p.m. when the driver was returning home after dropping a passenger. He was alone in the vehicle when it fell. The driver probably did not notice the drain as the water from the drain was overflowing on the road and Mangaluru City Corporation had not erected any curb on the edge of the road as a safety measure to distinguish the drain and the road. The drain passed under Tiruvu Road near Yamuna Paradise Apartment. The vehicle with the driver drowned.

Urwa Police have registered a case under Section 304 A of the IPC against concerned officials of Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) due to whose fault, the incident allegedly occured, police said.

Flood water also entered several low-lying shops in the Kottara Chowki area on Friday night. The shopkeepers were seen draining the water on May 25 (Saturday) morning.

Meanwhile, three two-wheelers were damaged when the compound wall near Krishna Complex, Old KSRTC Bus Stand, in Udupi collapsed due to heavy rains on Friday night.

According to Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), Padupanambur Gram Panchayat, near Mulky in Dakshina Kannada district recorded the highest 192 mm rainfall in 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday, May 25, in Karnataka.

It was followed by 133.5 mm of rainfall recorded at Kilpady, near Mulky, 133 mm at Chelyar, near Mangaluru, 127.5 mm at Bala, near Mangaluru, 104.5 mm near Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada, and 102 mm rainfall recorded during the same period at Padumarnad near Mangaluru.