The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Damage no less in Bangalore Rural

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 27, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Damage no less in Bangalore Rural

Special Correspondent

Officials told to take steps to protect tanks so that they do not breach if rain continues

BANGALORE: While there is much focus on the rain havoc in Bangalore and on its outskirts that in towns and villages spread over Bangalore Rural district is no less.

Of statistical interest is that the rain has claimed 12 lives and damaged over 3,500 houses, causing enormous suffering to the people.

Finance and Industry Minister P.G.R. Sindhia, who is in charge of Bangalore Rural district, on Wednesday visited rain-affected places in his Kanakapura constituency and assessed the damage to public and private properties. Damage to public property, houses and crops in the rain and floods have been estimated at Rs. 30 crores. Officials of the Public Works Department and Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) had been instructed to take up urgent repairs related to roads and power supply immediately.

Several bridges at Harhohalli in Kanakapura taluk were damaged. Officials of the Minor Irrigation Department had been instructed to take steps to protect tanks so that they did not breach if rain continues over the next few days, Mr. Sindhia said. A sum of Rs. 9 crores had been released recently to the district for taking up repairs works.

The Minister, who toured Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Kolar and Hassan districts during the last few days, said over 50 lakh people had been affected by rain and potato and groundnut crops destroyed in some districts. Damage caused by rain in Bangalore and elsewhere was yet to be assessed. Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh, Deputy Chief Minister M.P. Prakash and senior Ministers would soon meet and assess the damage, he said.

The Government had sought Rs. 3,000 crores from the Centre under the Natural Calamity Fund. But it had released only Rs. 400 crores.

The Government would again submit a memorandum to the Centre and seek funds for taking up urgent civic works, Mr. Sindhia said.

The Government had released Rs. 30 crores for Bangalore and Rs. 25 crores to the other rain-affected districts.

After assessment of the damage, more funds would be released to Bangalore for undertaking urgent works.

He appealed to MPs from the State, including H.D. Deve Gowda to exert pressure on the Centre to release more funds.

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