Karnataka   

Plan to tackle flood woes soon

With prayers: Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa offering ‘bagina’ to the Krishna at the Alamatti dam in Bagalkot on Sunday.

Nippani (Belgaum): A meeting of legislators, members of Parliament and senior officials will be held in Bangalore soon to find a permanent solution to the flood-related problems faced by people living on the banks of rivers in the State, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has said.

He was talking to presspersons after a visit to the flood-affected village of Hunnargi in Chikkodi taluk on Sunday.

Rehabilitation and resettlement works undertaken in 113 villages in Belgaum, Bijapur, Bagalkot, Gulbarga, Bijapur, Raichur and Koppal districts had been moving at a slow pace ever since works were taken up after the floods in 2006-07, he said.

All the families to be shifted to safe areas would be provided with houses, he said.

As many as 192 villages in the State had been affected in the heavy rain that lashed the State in the first week of August. As many as 19 persons had been killed, nearly 3,571 houses damaged and crops destroyed at many places, he said.

A compensation of Rs. 1 lakh had been handed over to to the families of each of the deceased. The district administrations had set up 57 temporary relief centres where 7,085 persons had been provided with shelter, food and medication, he said.

Mr. Yeddyurappa said that the Government had provided Rs. 115.75 crore to the district administrations for taking up relief works.

Responding to the demands of the people affected by the backwater of the Hippargi barrage, Mr. Yeddyurappa said that it had been decided to acquire all the 884 acres of land that falls in the submergence area. The Government had released funds to take up land acquisition, he said. Mr. Yeddyurappa said the Cabinet would take a final decision on holding hobli-level meetings to address local issues.

As part of austerity measures, the Government was planning to hold interactions with people through video conferencing. The Government, which would complete 100 days in office on September 9, would present a “report card” to the people on its performance and achievements. Asked whether the Government would compensate sugarcane farmers with Rs. 25,000 per hectare of land, he said the compensation announced for farmers during the past two financial years had been disbursed.

The Government would continue to provide a concession of Rs. 160 a tonne of sugarcane to the sugar factories in the crushing season, he added.

Staff Correspondent writes from Bijapur:

The Government was preparing an action plan to find a permanent solution to the problem of floods in Bijapur, Bagalkot and Belgaum districts, Mr. Yeddyurappa said.

Speaking to presspersons after performing Ganga puja and offering “bagina” to the Krishna at the Alamatti dam, he said these districts were facing flood situation every year due to unscheduled release of water from the Koyna dam in Maharashtra. A letter had been sent to Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in this regard. “Mr. Deshmukh has promised that he will instruct the officers concerned not to release water without informing the authorities of other States”, he said. The Government was all set to implement the project of filling tanks in Bagalkot and Bijapur districts. On the remarks of Excise Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, Mr. Yeddyurappa said that water from the Alamatti dam would not be used for providing drinking water to people in and around Bangalore.

He did not comment on the issue of increasing the height of the Alamatti dam.

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