Bengaluru, 30 Sept

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah conducted an aerial survey of the flood-hit regions of Kalyana Karnataka. He inspected areas of Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Yadgir, Bidar and Raichur districts on Tuesday.

He announced that compensation would be provided to the affected people after the State government conducts a proper survey to asses the damages. The districts of Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Yadgir, and Raichur in the Kalyana Karnataka region have been affected, with floods from the Bhima River throwing normal life out of gear.

After conducting the aerial survey, he held a meeting with MLAs, Ministers and officials of the Vijayapura, Yadgir, Bidar and Kalaburagi districts at the District Collector’s office. In a statement, Siddaramaiah said that the previous “joint survey on crop damage had been completed and preparations were underway to distribute compensation, but the second round of crop damage has occurred.

Therefore, the government decided to conduct a survey of crop damage”. “According to the NDRF rules, there is Rs 8,500 per hectare for dry land, Rs 17,000 per hectare for irrigated land, and Rs 22,500 for perennial crops. This will be released as soon as the survey is completed,” he said.

The State government would provide an additional compensation above the NDRF amount. Of Rs 8,500 for dry land per hectare, for a total of Rs 17,000; Rs 17,000 per hectare for irrigated land for a total of Rs 25,500; and Rs 22,500 per hectare for perennial crops, totalling Rs 31,000, he said. He added damages to houses would also be assessed.

“The Revenue Department estimates that compensation of around Rs 1,000 crores may be needed,” he added. Asserting that the government had no shortage of funds, he added, “The Maharashtra government has requested the Centre for Rs 2,200 crore in relief for floods. We will urge the Centre to release funds for Karnataka too.” 

Rains wash away newly-built bridge in Belagavi

A low-level bridge connecting Sambaragi and Agrani villages in Kagwad taluk, Belagavi district, was washed away by the heavy flow of the Agrani river on Monday night.

The bridge, built last year at a cost of Rs 50 lakh across the Agrani, a tributary of the Krishna, had been inaugurated by Kagwad Congress MLA Raju (Bharamagouda) Kage. The region has been receiving incessant rainfall since Sunday.

The BJP alleged that the collapse of the newly-built bridge was yet another example of corruption in the Siddaramaiah-led government, blaming substandard construction work.

Countering the allegation, MLA Kage clarified that the project had been sanctioned when the BJP was in power under then chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.