On Saturday, as torrential rains continued to lash many parts of Karnataka, the State government released Rs 200 crore to fund relief and rehabilitation efforts, even as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai directed the formation of two more State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) contingents.
The Chief Minister, who tested positive for COVID-19, held a video conference with Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of rain-affected districts, Ministers, and officials from his home, where he has isolated himself, to obtain details on flood havoc, landslides, crop losses, and relief efforts.
While 70 people died as a result of the nonstop rains from June 1 to August 6, a total of 507 livestock losses were reported. According to his office, Bommai has directed officials to form additional SDRF contingents to strengthen relief and rescue systems.
"SDRF and NDRF contingents have already been deployed in flood-affected areas." "The DCs should stay in constant contact with the teams and focus on immediate relief and rehabilitation," he said.
The Chief Minister also stated that there is no shortage of funds for relief and rehabilitation operations, stating that Rs 200 crore has already been released for 21 districts and that the DCs should take immediate action to disburse compensation for houses destroyed or damaged.
According to information, the DCs had a total of Rs 657 crore available to them until August 2, and the State government today released Rs 200 crore for 21 districts. Repair and restoration of roads, bridges, and electric supply lines should be undertaken as soon as possible, he said, and power supply in villages should be restored, with DCs interacting with the electricity supply companies (ESCOMS) concerned.
He added that an adequate stock of electric poles and transformers should be ensured, and that crop loss surveys should be completed as soon as possible and compensation distributed without delay. Bommai wanted officials to issue flood warnings ahead of time and instructed them to take action at Bennehalla in Gadag district, the Varada river banks in Haveri district, and other locations.
Before releasing water from reservoirs, he said, villages should be notified, and precautions should be taken to prevent tank bund breaches. He also requested that officials identify landslide-prone areas in the districts of Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, and Uttara Kannada and relocate residents to safer areas. "People in care facilities should be provided with good, quality food," he said.
While 3,559 houses were completely destroyed by the rains, 17,212 were only partially destroyed. Agriculture crops have been damaged on 1,29,087 hectares, horticulture crops on 7,942 hectares, 3,162 km of roads, 8,445 km of rural roads, 1,068 bridges and culverts, 4,531 schools, and 222 anganwadis. Also damaged were 16,760 electric poles, 1,469 transformers, 409 km of electric wires, and 33 minor irrigation tanks.
