Karnataka flood death toll reaches 24, damages amount to Rs 6000 cr

BENGALURU: The Government of Karnataka estimated ₹6,000 crore worth of damage caused to crops and public/private infrastructure by heavy rains and floods. And, the death toll from various rain related incidents reached 24. Therefore, the government decided to seek immediate relief of ₹3,000 crore from the Centre.

B S Yediyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka, termed the incident as the “worst calamity in 45 years” and said that a memorandum would be submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking immediate relief of ₹3,000 crore for providing compensation to families facing distress due to crop loss and damage to their houses.

Personnel from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the armed force actively carried out rescue and relief work. Yediyurappa told the reporters, “We are planning to reconstruct houses damaged in the rains. Some of the villages have to be shifted completely.” Once situation becomes normal, a plan would be prepared to permanently shift villages located on the river banks in south and north Karnataka. He added that all 30 districts would be treated on equal footing. The CM said that he was capable of handling the flood situation and the absence of Ministers would not impede relief works in any way.

The Centre has responded positively to demands of the State, the CM said that it had already released the pending ₹856 crore under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and ₹126 crore under the State Disaster Fund.