Karnataka rain fury: Death toll climbs to 73, over 21,000 hit

Flood-affected families to get relief kit of ration — comprising rice, toor dal, cooking oil, sambar powder, salt, sugar and tea powder — to help recover

A total of 21 districts in the State have reported floods, covering 161 villages.  | Photo Credit: file photo

The State government has decided to provide a relief kit of rations to those affected by floods to ensure that their food requirement is taken care of at least for about 10 days, even as the death toll due to floods since June this year touched 73 in Karnataka.

Announcing this at a press conference in Bengaluru on Monday, Revenue Minister R. Ashok said the kit would be provided immediately to those staying at the houses of their relatives and friends. Those accommodated in relief centres would get them when they return to their homes.

He said 21 districts of the State had reported floods, covering 161 villages. In all, 73 people died due to floods since June, while 21,727 have been affected and 8,197 people had been rehabilitated. Of them, 7,387 people had been accommodated in relief centres.

What do the kits include

A landslip on the Bhagamandala-Karike road in Kodagu district on Sunday due to incessant rains in the region since the last few days. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The relief kits would comprise rice, toor dal, cooking oil, sambar powder, salt, sugar and tea powder, which are worth around ₹1,000, he said. This would help ensure that the affected families staying at the houses of relatives and friends do not become burdens to their hosts. On the other hand, it would help those returning home from relief camps to recoup.

The government was also considering a proposal to provide umbrellas and torches to the flood-hit families, he said. The Minister said the government had now changed rules to ensure those in relief camps get nutritious food. Detailed instructions had been issued on their menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner, he said.

Referring to the relief measures, the Minister said it had been decided to hike the compensation towards crop loss for this year. A proposal seeking assistance would be submitted to the Centre.

He said the Centre had released an additional aid of ₹1,000 crore last year above that allowed by the guidelines. A total of ₹2,445 crore had been released by the Centre last year while the State too had released funds which were the highest when compared to other States, he claimed. Mr. Ashok said ₹857 crore was still pending with all the Deputy Commissioners for relief works.

Situation in Hampi

Meanwhile, most dams in Karnataka continued to witness heavy discharge of water. Owing to the continued rainfall in the Tungabhadra catchment area, especially in Western Ghats, the inflow into Tungabhadra reservoir near Hosapete in Vijayanagara district further rose threatening areas downstream, especially the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi.

The inflow into the reservoir was 1,25,263 cusecs at 7 p.m. and the dam authorities maintained the discharge of 1,13,631 cusecs of water from the reservoir.

Many monuments in Hampi remained flooded. Purandara Mantapa, the holy bathing spot Chakrateertha, and the canal of Vijayanagara Empire went completely under water. On Sunday, a huge tree near Saalu Mantapa was uprooted by the strong wind and heavy rains. However, no monument was damaged.

For those who built KRS

The government had decided to provide possession certificates to over 700 families who came from other States to build KRS dam in Mandya district about 60 years ago, Revenue Minister R. Ashok said. These families had settled down in Srirangapatna since then.

KRS dam overflows following heavy rains

Discharge from KRS dam at 6 am on Monday July 11, 2022 | Video Credit: Shankar Bennur