Heavy rain lashes Kerala; rail, road traffic hit, schools, colleges shut

Thiruvananthapuram: Rail and road traffic were hit in various parts of Kerala on Monday due to waterlogging as heavy rains continued to pound the state with the South West Monsoon becoming active again.

In the second spell of rains due to the South West monsoon, 11 people have been killed since July 9, according to the state control room, which is monitoring rain-related incidents. Several low-lying areas are inundated and roads are cut off, it said. Due to waterlogging on rail tracks, signalling system has been affected and at least eight passenger trains have been cancelled and some others are running late in the Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram route.

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus station in Thiruvananthapuram is also waterlogged, disrupting services, it said.

Educational institutions in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts are closed on Monday as district collectors declared a holiday due to heavy rains.

Kerala University has postponed all its examinations scheduled for Tuesday to July 21.

A branch of a tree fell on the last bogey of Antodaya Express at Aroor near Kochi after hitting an electric line, leading to a delay. In Alappuzha also a tree fell on to a track following which rail services were affected.

Also in Alappuzha, flood waters entered several houses in the low-lying Kuttanad area. Around 2,000 families have been shifted to at least 46 relief camps in the state, officials in the state control room said.

In the hilly Idukki district, landslips occurred in one or two places.

In the state's coastal areas, severe sea erosion has also been reported. In the second spell of rains, 614 houses have been partially damaged and 20 fully, the officials said.