Bhatkal: Roof of a hotel and a sofa shop adjacent to National Highway 66 in Gorte, blown off after stormy winds. The incident was reported on the border of Bhatkal and Uttara Kannada on Tuesday morning, resulting in a loss of crores.

Lakshmesh Naik, the owner of Hotel Sahara, located near Shiroor toll gate, where long-distance buses often stop for lunch and dinner, said that the roof of his hotel was suddenly blown off by the stormy winds at around ten in the morning. Fortunately, only two to three staff members were working in the hotel, and there were no customers around because of the early morning hour. The National Highway was also mostly empty, which helped avoid any loss of life and a possible major disaster.

The tin shed roof of the hotel collapsed, destroying the furniture, utensils, and equipment inside. A woman working in the hotel, identified as Padmavati, was injured and rushed to the hospital for treatment. The wind was so strong that the entire roof was blown off and landed on the side of the National Highway, about 20 meters away from the hotel. As a result, an electric pole and a tree also fell, breaking the electric wires. The intensity of the wind can be gauged from the fact that a piece of the shed was also seen hanging from a tree.

Bhatkal Hescom Assistant Executive Engineer Manjunath reached the spot and inspected the damage. He directed the Hescom officials to immediately carry out the installation of the pole and the work of connecting the electric wires.

Along with the Sahara Hotel, the roof of the nearby Sunshine Sofa Manufacturing Shop was also blown off, and several sofas in the shop were damaged by the rain.