As rains continue to batter many parts of Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai held a virtual conference with 17 Deputy Commissioners and other senior officials of the worst-hit districts on Saturday and directed them to deploy additional two teams of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for expediting relief and rescue operations.
He also ordered the release of ₹200 crore to Deputy Commissioners of 21 districts for undertaking relief operations. A sum of ₹657 crore is already with Deputy Commissioners as on August 2, for undertaking relief measures.
As many as 70 people have been killed in rain-related incidents in Karnataka since June and extensive damage caused to properties and crops.
21 districts
Mr. Bommai, who has tested positive for COVID-19, chaired the meeting from his residence, and obtained details of the havoc caused. The DCs of Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Hassan, Mandya, Mysuru, Davangere, Tumakuru, Ramanagaram, Yadgir, Koppal, Haveri, Bidar, Kalaburagi, Gadag, and Chikkamagaluru participated in the meeting.
District-wise of release of funds for various districts is as follows: Dakshina Kannada ₹20 crore, Uttara Kannada ₹10 crore, Ballari ₹5 crore, Chikkamagaluru ₹10 crore, Chitradurga ₹5 crore, Davangere ₹15 crore, Dharwad ₹5 crore, Gadag ₹5 crore, Hassan ₹15 crore, Haveri ₹5 crore, Koppal ₹10 crore, Mandya ₹10 crore, Raichur ₹10 crore, Shivamogga ₹10 crore, Tumakuru ₹10 crore, Udupi ₹15 crore, Vijayanagara ₹5 crore, Mysuru ₹15 crore, Chamarajanagar ₹5 crore, Kolar ₹5 crore, and Chikkaballapur ₹10 crore.
Mr. Bommai directed officials concerned to take steps to restore supply of electricity, and road connectivity in rural areas as early as possible. He also told ESCOM officials to keep sufficient stock of transformers and electric poles.
Survey of crop damage
He instructed officials to conduct a joint survey of crop damage and take steps to ensure transparency in the distribution of compensation to farmers for crop loss. The Chief Minister told engineers of the Water Resources department to alert villages located downstream while releasing water from reservoirs to prevent floods and crop loss.
On landslips and damage to houses in Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, and Uttara Kannada, Mr. Bommai told officials to take steps to shift families from locations which can potentially suffer landslides during the monsoon. The officials have been told to provide ration kits to people who have refused to stay at relief centres.
