BENGALURU: The state government has sought at least Rs 2,000 crore aid from the Union government to take up immediate relief and rehabilitation works in flood-ravaged Kodagu. A delegation led by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Thursday.
According to initial estimates, the state has suffered loss to the tune of Rs 3,435 crore due to floods and landslides in Kodagu.“I am reiterating my earlier request for an immediate relief of at least Rs 2,000 crore to enable us to start rehabilitation process,” Kumaraswamy said as he presented the memorandum. The Chief Minister urged Rajnath Singh to send an inter-ministerial central team for an early assessment.
Rajnath Singh assured all possible help for the state in this hour of need, and said a central team will be sent soon to assess the damage caused by floods in Kodagu.
Presenting details on the extent of damage caused by the rain fury and floods in Kodagu and the adjoining Malnad and coastal regions, the memorandum highlighted the loss of 65 human lives, around 165 animals, destruction of over 5,500 houses and damage to over 2,000 km of roads.
Crops in large tracts of land have been destroyed and the entire fertile top soil has been washed away in the flood-affected regions. Coffee estates have been reduced to a pile of mud due to massive landslides. The disaster is likely to adversely affect the local ecology, the memorandum said.
“Coffee production for 2018-19 is likely take a big hit as Kerala and Kodagu in Karnataka account for 90% of country’s coffee production. The loss will be to the tune of several thousands of crore rupees,” the Chief Minister said in the memorandum.