BENGALURU: The Karnataka government, during a video-conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, sought an advance of Rs 395 crore from its State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and an additional assistance package for the damage caused by rains and floods in different parts of the state.
“In all, 885 villages in 56 taluks have been severely affected. Over 3,000 houses, 80,000 hectares of crops, 3,500 km of roads, 104 minor irrigation lakes and tank bunds, and 394 government buildings have been damaged. Our initial estimate of the damage is around Rs 4,000 crore,” said Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai. But, actual losses can be tabulated only after rains subside, he added.
The state has sought a special package to overcome losses and damage caused due to floods since 2018 till the Covid crisis. Last year, when severe floods ravaged parts of Karnataka, the state had estimated the damage at Rs 35,000 crore and sought relief from the Centre. After months of delay, the Union government released only Rs 1,869 crore. This time around, the state government has decided to wait for the rains to stop completely to assess the damage, and then send a memorandum requesting assistance.