Kodagu in-charge Secretary and senior IAS officer V. Anbu Kumar on Friday warned the officials of instituting inquiry against them if they failed to complete all pending works following damage caused by heavy rains in the previous years, by August 20.
At a meeting in Madikeri to discuss monsoon preparedness and COVID-19 control, Mr. Kumar, who presided, said works sanctioned after the previous years’ deluge should not be delayed anymore and the bills of those works must be submitted immediately. The engineers must ensure that works meet the quality standards.
The Secretary told the officials to immediately report rain-related incidents and damages to the Deputy Commissioner and take up relief work immediately.
Deputy Commissioner Charulatha Somal said steps had been taken to complete all pending works and also those taken up this year following damage caused by rains. The district administration has taken all adequate measures for handling this year’s monsoon.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Raju Mogaveera said one person died and 47 houses were damaged in heavy rains recorded in the current season. The loss so far was estimated to be around ₹52.39 crore.
District Health Officer K. Mohan said Kodagu’s positivity rate stands at 2.19 per cent and all steps had been taken to bring the pandemic under control.
Heavy rains have been lashing Kodagu since the past few days with officials rushing to the sites of landslides reported on Friday to clear the roads from sludge and fallen trees for traffic movement. Several electric poles had been damaged this season so far in the district and most of them had been repaired to restore electricity supply.
The Deputy Commissioner had said during a recent video conference with Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa that Kodagu has recorded 744.7 mm rainfall in June and so far in July this year. In the same period in 2018, the district had received 2,219.7 mm. In 2019 and 2020, 856.4 mm and 849 mm was recorded. As many 70 areas in Kodagu have been identified as “flood-prone” and nearly 85 relief centres had been established for temporary housing of the rain-affected.
The Geographical Survey of India (GSI) has identified 85 places in Kodagu, including areas in Madikeri and Virajpet towns, as vulnerable to floods and landslips, and the district administration had said earlier that the local authorities were in the process of shifting people in those areas to safer places.
