Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke with Karnataka chief minister Basavraj Bommai regarding heavy rainfall in the state and took stock of the situation, government sources told news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has instructed the officials to transfer the compensation amount for the heavy losses of crops suffered due to the destruction caused by incessant rains to affected farmers' accounts immediately after accessing the details being uploaded to Relief App based on the GPS survey.
Speaking to the media during his visit to rain-affected areas of Kolar district on Monday, the chief minister said, "Incessant rains have caused huge losses to standing crops in the state. GPS based survey of the destruction is on and the details were being uploaded to Relief App. Officials had been instructed to transfer the compensation amount to affected farmers' accounts immediately after accessing the details."
Starting from Narasapura, the Chief Minister extensively toured the Kolar district and said, "I have seen extensive damage to Ragi, vegetables, horticulture and floriculture crops. Floodwaters from the Mudavadi irrigation tank has cut-off road connectivity in the area. About 790 houses have been completely or extensively damaged. Agri Crops in 48,333 hectares and horticulture crops in 6966 hectares have been affected, 189km length of roads and 34 bridges have been damaged according to preliminary reports." The chief minister said that there was no crunch of funds for relief operations as Rs 684 crore was available in District Collectors' PD accounts in the state.
He also announced that a sum of Rs 5 lakh would be paid as compensation for completely damaged houses and Rs 3 lakh for partially damaged houses in three instalments. District Collectors have been instructed to disburse the first instalment of Rs 1 lakh immediately.
Bommai further said that the state government has released Rs 500 crore for the repair of damaged roads and bridges. Schools and Anganvadis too had suffered damages and their repair would be taken up through the NDRF fund.
The rains have caused extensive damage to Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagar, Hassan district.
Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts have many large and minor irrigation tanks, the Chief Minister noted and assured funds for their repair and maintenance."Officials have been instructed to clear the encroachments on these tanks. Conduct survey of tanks, put up fencing around them to preserve them," Bommai said.
(With inputs from ANI)
