Sonia Gandhi makes aerial survey of flood-hit Bellary

BANGALORE - The Karnataka government and the state Congress party Monday urged Congress president and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi for massive central assistance to rehabilitate the flood-hit in the state’s northern districts.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa met Gandhi at Bellary, about 350 km from here, and submitted a memorandum for central help after she made an aerial survey of the devastation caused by torrential rain and flash floods in northern districts.

Gandhi, who had won the Bellary Lok Sabha seat in 1999 but preferred to retain her Rae Bareli seat, landed in Thorangallu, about 30 km from Bellary city, after the aerial survey.

Earlier she had surveyed the damage caused in Andhra Pradesh.

State Congress president R.V. Deshpande also met her and submitted a separate memorandum on behalf of the party unit for immediate central help to the state.

Yeddyurappa has already written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram seeking immediate release of Rs.10,000 crore under the National Calamity Contingency Fund.

He told Sonia Gandhi that 15 districts had been hit by rain and flood, killing 175 people and damaging over 200,000 houses which had left around a million people homeless.

Deshpande told IANS over phone from Bellary that the party has sought early release of ad-hoc funds from the central government for the massive rehabilitation work.

He said the party unit has not mentioned any specific amount. However, “we have urged that a central team should be immediately sent to assess the damage”.

“We have also asked that 100,000 houses be built under the Indira Awas Yojana (a scheme of the central government).”

She has assured help, Deshpande said.

Yeddyurappa earlier Monday had a meeting with ministers and senior officials in Bellary and announced that the government would construct 200,000 houses, half of them within one year.

With all marooned people rescued, the focus was on rehabilitation in Karnataka. “We have suspended rescue operations and are concentrating on relief and rehab measures,” H.V. Parashwanath, secretary of the state disaster management committee told IANS in Bangalore.

He said: “There have been no rains in north Karnataka in the last two days though the sky is overcast. Water levels are receding.”

Over 350,000 people were taking shelter in the 1,211 relief camps set up across the districts. Another 300,000 to 400,000 people were staying in other make-shift places, schools, marriage halls and temples, Parashwanath said.

“We have commissioned a survey to collect data on the number of people affected, houses damaged and livestock lost for suitable compensation. This exercise will take at least two-three weeks,” he said.