Kushalnagar, June 1 -- 158 of 280 rain gauges not working in Mysuru; 56 of 104 in Kodagu; 109 of 243 in Mandya

The South West Monsoon has arrived early in Karnataka, bringing heavy to very heavy rainfall across most regions. Yet, the State Government appears woefully unprepared, with over 3,533 of the 6,533 (54 percent) Telemetric Rain Gauges (TRGs) lying defunct across Karnataka.

These TRGs - installed in every Gram Panchayat - are crucial for the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) and other agencies to issue early rainfall and flood warnings, coordinate disaster response and safeguard lives and property. However, the critical data they are designed to provide is largely unavailable in several rain-prone distri...