Speaking to reporters in Mysuru before beginning his tour of rain-hit districts in the State, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the State Government will prepare a special plan after receiving a report from experts on providing a permanent solution against flooding of houses situated near rivers in flood-prone areas of the State.
“If not entire villages situated along the rivers, at least the houses built near the rivers should be shifted to safer places. I have asked for an expert opinion on the matter. A special plan will be readied in this regard in the coming days,” he said.
In Uttara Kannada district, the residents of about 63 houses have already been shifted to safer places. “While some families have left, a few others have not shifted,” he said.
Report on losses in Kodagu rains
With regard to the flood situation in Kodagu, Mr. Bommai said the Government will try to convince the people facing a threat to life and property to shift to safer zones. He pointed out that there were a few seismic zones in the district that had experienced landslides, which were, however, not on a scale that had been reported earlier.
He said the authorities were preparing a report on the losses during recent rains. The report will contain details of loss of life, collapse of houses, crop loss, besides disruption in road connectivity, landslides and damage to standing crops on account of discharge of water from the reservoirs.
The first report on the damages due to rain will be ready by Tuesday evening, he said, and a decision on seeking Central funds will be taken after the losses are assessed in the report.
However, he said, there is no shortage of funds for rescue and relief operations in the State. The State has about ₹ 739 crore available under the National Disaster Management Funds.
Mr Bommai dismissed the charges that Ministers in-charge of the district had not taken flood-relief work seriously and cited the examples of Ministers in-charge of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada — S Angara, Sunil Kumar and Kota Srinivas Poojary, respectively — visiting the flood-hit areas in their respective districts.
Similiarly, Public Works Minister C C Patil visited Shiradi Ghat while Minister for Revenue R Ashok, too, had visited Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts to review the rain situation, he added.
