K'taka govt fails miserably to handle flood situation: KPCC

Bangalore, Aug 17 (UNI) The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) today alleged that the state government had miserably failed to provide neccessary relief to people affected by floods in Northern parts of the state.

Addressing a press conference here, KPCC General Secretary Veeranna Mathikatti said a study team, constituted by the party state unit to assess the extent of damage caused by the deluge, in its report to the KPCC President, had said that glaring laxity was found on the part of the state government in responding to the flood situation.

He said in several flood-ravaged villages, the state government officials had failed to visit the people and provide the necessary succour. Over one lakh people in Gulbarga, Bagalkot, Bijapur and Belgaum districts had been displaced due to the floods caused by heavy inflow into rivers Bhima and Krishna following rain-hit Maharashtra stepping up release of water from its reservoirs.

Mr Mathikatti said the study team had also found that as many as 69 villages in Belgaum, 61 in Bagalkot and 34 in Gulbarga had been marooned by flood waters and the Deputy Commissioners concerned had appealed to the state government in vain to release Rs 350 crore for taking up relief works.

He alleged that the state government had not even bothered to prepare a comprehensive report on the flood situation in the state and send it to the Union Government seeking financial assistance.

Mr Mathikatti said a delegation of senior Congress leaders, including former Chief Minister N Dharam Singh and KPCC President Mallikarjuna Kharge, would soon meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi and seek financial assistance for the state.

He also wanted the state government to send an all-party delegation to New Delhi to seek more Central funds for flood relief works.

Referring to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's charge that the Centre had not released necessary funds to the state to take up relief works, he said Mr Kumaraswamy was more interested in politicising the issue rather than making sincere efforts to convince the Union Government on the need to sanction the required funds, he alleged.

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