Heavy lightning and thunderstorms over the last weekend in Manipal and Udupi have damaged a few residences in Brahmavar and Manipal. In Brahmavar, a tree got uprooted and fell on the rooftops damaging houses. However, there were no injuries.
In Manipal, a house belonging to Koraga Naika, in Vijayanagara Colony, Kodi was damaged after a coconut tree got uprooted and fell on the roof. A five-year-old child suffered minor injuries in the incident.
The building was simply standing in the way of the thunderstorm. This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.However, the most severe damage occurred to the more than 50 year old front facade of Manipal Institute of Technology building, which saw a lightning strike destroying its look. The building now resembles something straight out of an end-of-the-world-apocalyptic movie.
According to a reliable source, the incident occurred, when the building was just resigning itself to the students finishing their end semester exams and returning to their homes to seek for shelter from the severe heat wave that Manipal was suffering from.
Thor’s hammer captured in its act by Kshitij BodhankarHowever, on Saturday night, it was completely caught unawares as a thunderstorm initiated by the self-styled god “Thor” completely wreaked havoc across Manipal. His thunderbolt was captured by several of the students who were preparing to leave the most beautiful hostels in India.
Some of the people who spoke to our reporter on the issue expressed the feeling that the building was positioned directly on the route of the thunderstorm during the time of the incident.Ashfaq said “This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.”
“It was just like a war zone, you couldn’t believe it,” said Sravan Chenji, who lives in the End-point neighborhood.
A description so vivid, with toppled trees and crushed carports serving as a harsh reminder leaving many in awe.
“We were shook when daylight hit, to see the devastation. It’s just unreal,” said Kamal Subuddhi, who is a resident of the MIT Hostels
A mangled mess once served as an imposing facade of the MIT name, virtually unrecognizable now all thanks what folks here are deeming the storm with a distinct sound.
Speaking to Faking ManipalBlog, the keeper of the building, Rammanna said that the incident had worsened the already bad situation of the institute and regretted that if nothing was done expeditiously to address it; the school would be depreciating in infrastructures necessary for the teaching and learning.
PS: MIT Manipal is going in for an overhaul of its infrastructure. The building is now being renovated and it is still a work in progress. The photo in this article was taken much before the lightning strikes. It is also true that unicorn is the national animal of India. The above article is just a joke. It’s up to you what you choose to believe.