Flood-hit Karnataka on Monday sought a special financial assistance of ₹4,000 crore from the Centre to handle the relief and rehabilitation measures. In addition to this, Karnataka also appealed to the Centre to release the second instalment of ₹395 crore towards the State Disaster Response Fund to cater to the immediate relief measures.
An appeal in this regard was made by Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Revenue Minister R. Ashok during a two-hour video conference of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the representatives from various flood-hit States to review the situation.
Representing Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who is undergoing treatment for COVID-19, the two Ministers explained the situation with respect to floods including various relief measures initiated by the State government.
According to an official communication, the Prime Minister assured the State of considering its request and also directed the central authorities concerned to take up short as well as long-term measures to handle the relief and rehabilitation measures.
He also told the States that protecting people and cattle should be the main priority.
Briefing mediapersons after the video-conference, Mr. Bommai said that the State had also sought an additional four NDRF teams to handle emergencies. Presently, the State has four NDRF teams and 200 trained staff of SDRF besides four Defence helicopters.
As part of long-term measures, the State appealed to the Prime Minister to establish an inter-state integrated flood forecasting and response system in the Krishna river basin for effective handling of flood situation through the Central Water Commission.
It also requested him to set up landslide hazard mapping and early warning system in the entire Western Ghat region in the wake of frequent incidents of landslides, Mr. Bommai said.
Similarly, expressing concern over sea erosion, the State appealed to the Prime Minister to include prevention of sea erosion as a component in the National Cyclone Relief Mitigation project. It also sought similar measures to prevent river erosion.
Briefing the Prime Minister about the flood situation in the State, the two Ministers told him that 885 villages in 56 taluks spread over Belagavi, Raichur, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Hassan and Haveri, among other districts, had been affected by floods. As per initial assessment, 3,000 houses had been damaged while standing crops on 80,000 hectares had been devastated. In addition to this, 3,500 km of roads, 394 government buildings, 150 bridges, and power infrastructure including transformers had been damaged while 104 tanks coming under the Minor Irrigation department had breached.
Mr. Ashok said that the Prime Minister directed the flood-hit States to ensure that precautionary norms with respect to COVID-19 such as wearing masks, using sanitisers and holding tests for the virus were followed at the relief centres.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has decided to depute the army personnel who have arrived in the State to Kodagu district that faced serious floods, Mr. Bommai said.
