Centre yet to respond to request for aid, says Yeddyurappa

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa listens a victim of flood havoc in Bagalkot on Monday. Photo: PTI

The Centre has not responded yet to the State’s request for funds for relief and rehabilitation measures in areas affected by devastating floods following torrential rainfall in 14 districts, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has said. He has urged the Congress to seriously consider what he described as the discriminatory attitude of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government towards Karnataka.

However, the State Government will go ahead with relief and rehabilitation measures using its own funds. All chronically flood-prone villages in the Krishna basin will be relocated within a year, he said.

The Chief Minister was talking to presspersons after inspecting a breached tank in Bolkadabi village and meeting flood-affected families at a gruel centre in Shivapur village in Savadatti taluk on Tuesday.

Mr. Yeddyurappa said though the State Government had submitted two memorandums to the Centre on the losses due to the natural calamity and proposals to provide immediate relief and rehabilitation to the affected families, the Centre had not yet responded.

He alleged that though the magnitude of the losses due to torrential rainfall and floods in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh was relatively lower than that in Karnataka, the former was receiving better treatment.

However, he would lead a delegation to the Centre to request the Prime Minister to release adequate funds to expedite relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Meeting

Mr. Yeddyurappa said the State-level High Power Committee would meet in Bangalore on Wednesday to review the impact of the natural calamity and discuss immediate and long-term measures that required to be taken.

According to the latest reports, nearly three lakh houses had either fully or partially collapsed. The Government planned to construct 1.50 lakh to 2 lakh houses for the affected families.

Responding to a question, he said farmers were not getting adequate compensation for their crop losses because the insurance scheme was not properly designed. The village should be treated as a unit and not the hobli to ensure that farmers actually benefited, he said.