Will PM Sanction relief to Karnataka after Saturday’s Aerial Survey ?
From Our Special Correspondent
Bangalore, Oct 9: After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s announcement of Rs 1000 crore assistance to flood-ravaged Andhra Pradesh during his visit and aerial survey on Friday, Karnataka is pinning its hopes on a similar gesture of largesse from the Centre when Dr Singh visits the state on Saturday, October 10, for an aerial survey.
Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who kept himself busy during the last three consecutive days in undertaking padayatras along with his senior cabinet colleagues, MPs and legislators to mobilise funds for the massive relief and rehabilitation operations in the state even more worst-hit than the neighbouring state, flew to Hyderabad in the evening to join the Prime Minister when the latter flies to Raichur directly for the aerial survey of the devastation caused by the rains and consequent floods.
A high level team consisting of Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Shobha Karandlaje reviewed preparations for the Prime Minister’s eagerly awaited visit to Raichur on Saturday.
Chief Secretary S.V. Ranganath, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister V. P. Baligar, Director General of Police Ajaykumar Singh, Raichur Deputy Commissioner Adoni Syed Saleem and other officials participated in the meeting held in Raichur.
The meeting, which reviewed security and other arrangements, decided to effectively present the State’s case for generous central assistance of Rs 10,000 crore and declaring the situation in the state as a ``national calamity’’ and sanction before Dr Singh.
It also decided to apprise the Prime Minister of the presentations made before Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had undertaken the aerial survey of rain devastated districts on last Monday.
Meanwhile, the chief minister has convened an-all party meeting on Sunday to discuss the implementation of relief and rehabilitation works to the people affected by rains.
All MPs from the State and presidents of the political parties have been invited for the meeting to be held at Vidhana Soudha’s conference hall.
The heavy rains in the state, especially in northern Karnataka, has claimed a toll of 226 lives and death of 7,882 cattle as on October 9, Friday. As many as 4,292 villages in 16 of the 29 districts in the state had been affected by the rains leading to heavy damages to standing crops in 11.33 lakh hectares of land and the total estimated loss to standing crops, properties and infrastructure was estimated at Rs 20,000 crore. The government has drawn up plans to shift people residing in about 250 low-lying villages to safer places.
Though details of the fund mobilisation efforts of the chief minister on the third day in the southern parts of the city were not immediately available as the latter rushed to Hyderabad, officials in the chief minister’s office indicated that the total collections in cash and kind touched Rs 850 crore. The actual details are likely to be disclosed by the chief minister when he meets the all-party leaders in Vidhana Soudha on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President R V Deshpande, Working President D K Shivakumar, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council V S Ugrappa and former minister Basavaraj Rayareddi have urged the Prime Minister to help north Karnataka region by rebuilding the rural economy and declare it a national calamity.
Speaking to reporters after flagging off three trucks filled with medicine including life saving drugs to the flood-ravaged districts, Deshpande demanded that the Railway and Surface Transport ministries should be asked to restore road and rail link between Gadag-Koppal, Gadag-Haveri, Bangalore-Raichur, Bijapur-Bagalkot, Koppal-Raichur, Raichur-Gulbarga, Gulbarga-Bijapur, Bellary-Sindhanur and Ankola-Karwar.