BENGALUR: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday sought a report on the damage caused to agriculture and horticulture crops owing to heavy rains in different parts of the state for the past two weeks. “The unexpected downpour is continuing and there are signals that it will extend for another 4 to 5 days due to depression in the Bay of Bengal. Its effect is evident in Bengaluru and a few other districts such as damage to the roads, crops and inability to move out and water gushing into houses,” Bommai said.
“We are also assessing the crop loss in various districts due to rains to provide compensation to farmers. Today I am going to hold a meeting with officials on procurement under the Minimum Support Price. We are monitoring the situation,” Bommai said.
Bommai said once the rain stops, they have to take up road repair work, lay underground drains at an estimated cost of Rs 280 crore in the 110 villages which were added to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike in 2005-06. Relief operations will also be taken up in low-lying areas and more personnel will be pressed into service.
According to Bommai, the confusion over taking up repair work in Bengaluru has been resolved and it has been decided that the maintenance contractors should take it up. If they refuse, then the civic agency should undertake road repair work, holding back the security deposit of the maintenance contractors,
he explained. Also, four Bengaluru-specific State Disaster Response Force will be constituted.