The rains have claimed 96 lives since the onset of south-west monsoon this year in June, besides resulting in destruction of crops on 5.8 lakh hectares of land, according to Revenue Minister R. Ashok.
The Minister told reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday that 29,967 people in various districts of the State had been affected by the rains so far. Of them, 9,555 people had been relocated to safety, he said.
In addition to this, 1,471 bridges and 2,223 km of roads had been damaged due to heavy rains and the subsequent floods, the Minister said.
The total losses due to rains since June were estimated to be around ₹7,647 crore, he said, while pointing out that the State would seek aid from the Centre. The State had already released ₹250 crore towards rain relief, he said and maintained that Karnataka had given more rain relief than other States.
Referring to the forecast that indicates rains for some more days in the State, the Minister said all precautionary measures, including deployment of five NDRF teams in different areas, had been taken.
‘Scientific parameters’
He said officials concerned had been directed to clear water logging on Bengaluru-Mysuru highway. The Minister defended that the highway project had been planned and implemented as per scientific parameters, while responding to allegations that its design was faulty.
