Karnataka floods: Rs 500 crore to be released soon for repair works, infrastructure works in affected areas

Bommai added, “Officials of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF), the district administration and the legislators are ready to take up relief work on a war-footing. Last year, Rs 1,600 crore was paid within a month to compensate the farmers for a total loss of crop on 14 lakh hectare land. This year too, the compensation will be released immediately.”

“We will request for central assistance to take up relief works after getting reports on the extent of damage in the districts,” Bommai said.

Flood damage in districts

Mysuru, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Udupi and Karwar regions have received heavy rains in the month of July. So far, 32 people have died, five have gone missing, 34 are injured, about 300 people have been shifted to safer places, 14 care centres have been opened and four NDRF and SDRF teams have been deployed for rescue and relief works. Crops on about 216 hectare of land have been destroyed in Dakshina Kannada district and 129 hectare in Udupi district. As for houses, 58 have been totally destroyed, 26 are heavily damaged and 1,062 houses are partially damaged, Bommai said.

Damaged roads

About 2,187 km of roads, including PWD and rural roads, have been damaged. Of this, 727 km of damaged roads are in Dakshina Kannada, 500 km in Uttara Kannada and 960 km in Udupi.

Disrupted power supply

About 5,595 electric poles have been uprooted which has affected the power supply in the three districts. Work is on to restore power while 422 transformers are being repaired.

Although NDRF norms prescribe Rs 3,200 compensation for house collapse as an immediate relief, the state government is giving Rs 10,000. Damage to houses has been categorised as A, B and C according to the extent of damage. For category A, Rs 5 lakh is being provided as compensation for completely destroyed houses, Rs 3 lakh for category B of extensively damaged houses and Rs 50,000 for category C — partially destroyed houses. “The figures are much more than the sum fixed by the Union government at Rs 95,000 for category A and B and Rs 5,000 for category C,” Bommai said.

Farm input subsidy

For loss of crops, the NDRF has fixed an input subsidy of Rs 6,800 per hectare for dry land crops but the state government pays Rs 13,600. Similarly, this year too, Rs 13,600 will be paid as farm input subsidy per hectare, said Bommai. For wetland crops, Rs 25,000 will be paid per hectare as against the input subsidy of Rs 13,500 fixed by the Union government. For horticulture crops, the Union government provides an input subsidy of Rs 18,000 per hectare, while the state government is giving Rs 28,000 to help the farmers, Bommai said.

Care Centres

A solatium of Rs 4 lakh has been provided by the Union government for the families of those killed. However, the state government has raised it to Rs 5 lakh. “Those sheltered in care centres are being provided with nutritious meals which include eggs,” Bommai said.

Study of tremors

Referring to the frequent tremors in Kodagu and coastal regions, Bommai said the Geological Survey of India and universities of Bengaluru and Mysuru have been asked to study the phenomenon and submit a report. “Appropriate measures will be taken based on the report for the safety of the people,” the Chief Minister said.

A team of experts from Amrita University is studying the causes of landslides in Kodagu. They have been asked to conduct similar studies in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada and Malnad areas too, Bommai informed.

Sea erosion

Referring to the problem of sea erosion, Bommai said, though a programme to prevent sea erosion has been implemented with ADB funding of Rs 300 crore, the results are not satisfactory. “A ‘Sea Wave Breaker’ technology would be tried on an experimental basis along a 1 km coast at Ullala. It will be extended to the entire coast if found successful. A plan to provide a permanent solution for sea erosion will be formulated in the next 2-3 months,” Bommai said.