SHIRUR (UTTARA KANNADA): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited the landslide area at Shirur on Ankola-Kumta road in Uttara Kannada district. He was at the site for more than an hour, and was taken aback seeing the massive destruction, and interacted with the locals.
It continued to pour during his visit, but that did not deter his spirits.
He listened to people’s problems, and directed the officials to provide relief to the needy, and appreciated the NDRF and SDRF rescue teams for their work. “The task of finding those stuck under the rubble is very challenging in the continuous torrential rain,” he said.
He was accompanied by party colleagues RV Deshpande, Minister Mankal Vaidya and Karwar-Ankola MLA Satish sail, DC Uttara Kannada Lakshmi Priya and SP Narayan and other local Congress leaders like Gopal Krishna Naik.
Responding to the allegations of unscientific work by IRB, which allegedly led to the incident, Siddarmaiah said that people who are guilty will not be spared.
“We will not protect any guilty. We will initiate action against those responsible, once the rescue operations are completed,” the CM added.
Stating that such a massive landslide never occurred earlier, he pointed out to IRB that they are collecting toll without completing the road.
When questioned about the delay in rescue operations, he said that there is no such delay. Later on, the Chief Minister left for Karwar for a KDP meeting and instructed the officials to submit a damage report as per the NDRF norms so that the state can compensate for the loss of agriculture and horticulture crops.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during the meeting at Karwar, questioned the IRB officials, “Why are you collecting toll without completing the National Highway work in the district? The work was supposed to be completed by 2016, but it has not been finished so far. This not only misleads the Union Minister, but also provides incorrect information to the state government. I will write a strong letter to the Union Minister of Highways regarding this,” he said.
When asked about the opposition’s accusations on the government, he said he will not indulge in mudslinging.
Earlier, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, had arrived and explained how four teams are working to locate missing people, probably trapped under the rubble.
Victims’ kin to get Rs 5L compensation
“Several vehicles have gone missing. I have instructed the District Administration and the MLAs to speed up the rescue operations. We have given a sum of Rs 5 lakh to the family of those lost their life in the calamity. We are giving compensation to their family members once they find the body. I have instructed the Navy, the Army and the NDRF to scan the river sides for the missing people and the vehicles,” Chief Minister Siddarmaiah said. He also agreed to provide a permanent relief to the victims of water released from Kadra Dam 40 kms from Karwar. He also suggested installing electric poles along the coastal lines and repairing or replacing of electric wires and as and when required.
Raincoats for media
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah observed the journalists and camerapersons were working amidst the torrential downpour and asked the officials if they had provided raincoats and rubber shoes to all the journalists. The officers appeared confused as they did not expect this question from the Chief Minister.