Kodagu limping back to normlacy

Bengaluru: The flood-hit people in Kodagu district of Karnataka have started returning to their villages wherever the houses are intact after waters receded, the state government said on Saturday, August 25.

The joint rescue teams were still deployed and engaged in search operation even as there had been light to moderate rainfall in Kodagu, Principal Revenue Secretary Gangaram Baderiya said.

He also said Rs 30 crore has been released for relief work in Kodagu, where torrential rains last week had left a huge trail of destruction, claiming at least 17 lives and leaving more than 5,000 people homeless.

The government was paying Rs 3,800 relief amount per family sheltered in relief camps and two IAS officers had been posted to oversee the rehabilitation work, Baderiya said.

A total of Rs 50,000 has been given to each gram panchayat and Rs 15 lakh to municipal corporation to sanitise surface water bodies, he said.

As many as 1,019 rescuers from various agencies stationed in Kodagu were screening the villages.

The district administration will shortly take a call on sending back the rescue teams, Baderiya said.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and the Revenue Minister were constantly monitoring the situation and providing all necessary instructions, he said.

Food and Civil Supplies and Transport Ministers visited various relief camps and landslide affected areas and took stock of the relief and rehabilitation work.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had, on Friday, visited the flood-ravaged district and reviewed the situation.