The Karnataka government has requested the Centre for a special assistance of Rs 4,000 crore and an advance of Rs 395 crore, the second installment of state disaster response fund (SDRF), as floods ravaged 13 of 30 districts in the state.
The state has pegged total losses due to the floods till date at Rs 4,500 crore. "The state has been reeling under floods for the last three years. So, we have sought an advance of Rs 395 crore, to help tide over the crisis," said Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who, along with Revenue Minister R. Ashok took part in the video conference chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, in the absence of Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa who is hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19.
During the meeting of the chief ministers of six flood-hit states—Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Assam—the PM reviewed the flood situation, relief measures and sought suggestions on flood mitigation.
The meeting observed that the rainfall in June-July had been 118 per cent. Though the rainfall in July alone was only 80-90 per cent, the uneven distribution of rainfall resulted in the floods.
"In Karnataka, rainfall over the last one week in coastal Karnataka region, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts, Madikeri and north Karnataka districts of Belagavi, Dharwad, Haveri and Raichur has been higher than normal. For instance, Bhagamandala has received 500 per cent excess rainfall. The overflowing rivers and high speed winds are causing havoc. There has been a shift from the north-east monsoon to south-west monsoon and incessant rains in the Western Ghat region is causing the rivers to swell," informed Bommai, who addressed a press meet after the video conference.
According to the preliminary assessment report, at least 885 villages across 56 taluks have been affected by the floods. As many as 3,000 houses have collapsed, 80,000 hectares of agriculture and horticulture crops have been destroyed, while 3,500km of roads stand damaged due to heavy rains. There has been massive damages caused to the electric infrastructure like poles and tranformers, government buildings (393), bridges (250), minor irrigation tanks (104).
"The preliminary estimate of losses caused due to heavy rains, landslides and flooding is Rs 4,500 crore," said Bommai.
The state government also briefed the PM on the measures taken to mitigate the floods. "The chief minister, who is hospitalised for COVID treatment, had conducted a monsoon preparedness meeting and has been reviewing the situation. Four NDRF teams deployed in the state are engaged in rescue operations during the landslides, in addition to the SDRF teams. Four IAF helicopters have been reserved for rescue operations. We urged the Centre to deploy four more NDRF teams in the state permanently," said Bommai.
The minister also raised concern over incessant rains in the catchment area of the Krishna and Cauvery river basins causing floods, and recalled that Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi had met the Maharashtra government last month to put in place dam to dam coordination between the engineers of the two states, apart from better coordination between the district administration of Kolhapur and Belagavi districts. "The flood management has become better and effective now. The damages to the downstream villages and the crops have been minimised," claimed the minister.
"A flood forecast cell will be set up with the help of an Ahmedabad-based company for flood mitigation. We also have a network of 7,000 weather monitoring stations. Both will work as early warning system, facilitating timely evacuation and relief," added the minister.
For the first time, the state will be setting up Panchayat-level disaster management committees across 876 gram panchayats in 13 flood-prone districts. Around 1,744 flood relief centres have been identified to meet exigencies.
Compensation hiked
The ex-gratia amount for the deaths caused due to floods has been enhanced to Rs 5 lakh and compensation for the houses completely damaged due to floods has been fixed at Rs 5 lakh, while the amount for partial damage will be Rs 3 lakh and minor damage Rs 45,000.
Long-term measures
During the meeting, Karnataka government also mooted long-term measures like an integrated flood forecast and response system in the interstate river basins for real-time flood reporting and response.
The minister drew attention to the fact that heavy rain has been triggering landslides in the Western Ghats and put forth a proposal to evolve a landslide hazard mapping and development of early warning system along the Western Ghats to help the states.
The state has sought a special project to curb sea erosion along the coastal line during the monsoon. "The national cyclone relief and mitigation project should be extended to all the states along the Western Ghats with a coastal line facing sea erosion. In addition, the river basin undergoing soil erosion during the floods also needs special attention through schemes," explained Bommai.
'No dearth of funds'
The state government has no dearth of funds for flood relief and rehabilitation activities as the district collectors have Rs 1,120 crore, and the Centre has released Rs 310 crore," said Ashok, adding that he had toured the flood affected districts in the coastal region.
"The fishermen are in a state of panic due to the sea erosion. Some flood relief centres are in a dilapidated state. So, we are going to set aside Rs 200 crore to build permanent relief centres equipped with kitchen, dining hall, toilets, hospital and library facilities across the 10 flood prone districts," said Ashok, adding that the relief centres known as 'Kaalaji kendra' would start serving two eggs, pickle and papad along with the daily meals.
"The relief centres should adhere to COVID-19 norms; rapid antigen tests will be conducted at the centres to isolate the COVID positive patients. A one-time compensation of Rs 10,000 will be given to flood affected families for buying essential commodities," he added.
