Floods: K'taka seeks Rs 288 cr from Centre

Gulbarga, Aug 5 (UNI) The Karnataka Government has sought the Centre to announce a financial aid of Rs 288 crore to take up relief works in the five Northern Karnataka districts ravaged by the floods, including destruction of standing crops in 1.80 lakh hectares, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said today.

Talking to newspersons here after undertaking an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas to assess the loss, he said he would lead a delegation to the Prime Minister soon in this regard.

Assuring to provide sufficient funds to take up rehabilitation works in the flood-hit areas, the Chief Minister pointed out that Rs 123 crore had been allocated in the budget for meeting calamitous situations. Rs 13 crore had been released to the flood-hit areas so far.

Mr Kumaraswamy said the issue of announcing compensation to farmers who lost their crops would be discussed with the Finance department officials.

''The flood was a result of Maharashtra releasing surplus water in various dams, he said, asking the irrigation officials to explore the possibility of storing the water for later use. He would ask the Centre to direct the Maharashtra Government to release water in summer for drinking purpose as the State was bearing the brunt when it released excess water, he added.

Stating that the Centre had termed five districts as drought-hit and was providing funds, Mr Kumaraswamy appealed to the Centre to include six more districts, including Gulbarga, in the drought-hit list as incidences of farmer suicides were high.

About the Union IT Minister's recent announcement in Parliament that an IT park would be set up in Gulbarga, he assured that the moment he received an official communication from the Ministry, he would allot 100 acres of land and Rs one crore for the purpose.

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