A Central team began the process of assessing the extent of damage caused by floods and landslips in Kodagu and coastal districts, and took stock of the situation on Wednesday. One team, led by Anil Malik, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, held a meeting at Kushalnagar and apprised itself of the damage caused by floods, and later visited Hattihole, to assess the damage to infrastructure and crop loss. From Hattihole, the team visited Mukkodlu, and other places, including and the Jambur horticulture farm after which they held a meeting with local officials at Madikeri.
Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu P.I. Srividya and other officials apprised the team of the extent of damage and the severity of the natural calamity that hit the district.
The team will hold interactions on Thursday with officials once again and visit a few other places. A meeting with the Chief Secretary in Bengaluru is slated for Friday following which the Central team will submit its report to the Government of India.
Meanwhile, in Dakshina Kannada, Sasikanth Senthil S., Deputy Commissioner, told another visiting Central team that horticultural crops on 39,000 hectares in Dakshina Kannada have been destroyed in heavy rains. The team met him after visiting some areas in Mulki on the way to Mangaluru from Udupi. The district administration has estimated the total losses at ₹213 crore.
The team members gave an assurance that they would submit a comprehensive report to the government.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had sought an immediate release of ₹2,000 crore from the Centre to help rebuild Kodagu and other parts of the Malnad region which were ravaged by floods and landslips in August.