The districts of Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagar and Hassan in Karnataka suffered extensive damage as rains continued to lash the state on Sunday, November 21. A press release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that at least 24 people lost their lives due to the rains since November 1. Around 658 houses were completely damaged while 8,495 houses saw partial damage. The release, which had data compiled from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), said that 191 animals also died while around 5 lakh hectares of agricultural crops were damaged.
Highlighting the damage to infrastructure, the release that that 2,203 km of roads were damaged, besides 165 bridges, 1,225 school buildings and 39 Public Health Centres (PHCs).
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai visited rain affected areas of Chikkaballapur district on Sunday, November 21. The unseasonal incessant rains in the district have left 24 houses collapsed and 1,078 houses partially damaged. A compensation of Rs 5 lakh would be paid to those whose houses are completely damaged, Bommai said.
Chikkaballapur and Kolar districts have suffered extensive losses for crops, houses and public property in the recent heavy rains. Preliminary reports on the losses had been obtained and a comprehensive report on exact destruction would be available in a couple of days. Exact compensation to be released would be decided on receiving the comprehensive report, Bommai said.
The Deputy Commissioner had been instructed to pay Rs 10,000 immediately as compensation for the houses partially damaged, he said. He also issued orders for preparing a Detailed Project Report for construction of Rajakaluve from Kandavara irrigation tank to Gopalakrishna tank to avoid flooding in the area. He assured the people of all the help from the government for the affected people and said ministers were touring the affected districts to supervise relief works.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday predicted heavy rains across the state for another two days. State authorities are on high alert to face any situation emerging out of copious rainfall. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced that all ministers would travel to rain affected districts of the state and take up relief measures.
He maintained that as many as three lakh farmers are affected as they lost crops to excess rainfall in July, August and September and the government has released compensation. The remaining Rs 130 crore would be released soon, he added. As per predictions, heavy rains were witnessed in Bengaluru and various cities across Karnataka on Sunday evening throwing people's life out of gear. The IMD has maintained that the state has received 87% of excess rainfall since the beginning of November. The state has also recorded 51% excess rainfall between October and November.
The IMD has predicted respite from rains only after November 25. Yellow alert has been issued to alert people of heavy showers across Karnataka.