Madikeri: The district administration has prepared a Rs. 9-crore calamity relief action plan for this year. Works estimated at Rs. 4.5 crore have been approved. Each of the three taluks in the district has been allotted works estimated at Rs. 1.5 crore.

However, the State Government has released only Rs. 5 crore to Kodagu as calamity relief though the district administration sent proposals some time ago seeking Rs. 44 crore for rain relief works.

Deputy Commissioner Subodh Yadav told The Hindu that the first phase of calamity relief works was taken up in April last. The second phase was sanctioned in August and the third in September. Hobli-wise lists of works were approved and documentations made, including photographing the works.

Mr. Yadav said preliminary meetings had been held involving the Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat, executive engineers of the Public Works Department, Panchayat Raj wing and CESCOM. Works estimated at Rs. 4.5 crore had been approved. Though some works had been completed, a few were in progress. Most of the pending works related to asphalting.

Rain station

Mr. Yadav said that a "telemetric rain gauge station" had started functioning in Madikeri. It had been networked with Dakshina Kannada, Mysore and Hassan districts where respective deputy commissioners would get rain-related information once in six hours.

SMS alerts would be sounded via cell phones. Such information would enable them to take precautionary steps in the event of heavy rainfall.

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