Relief materials and funds pour in to Kodagu

Bengaluru: State government released Rs 2.2 crore interim relief for 5,800 people affected from flood-hit Kodagu district.

“The government has initiated steps to pay an interim relief of Rs 3,800 per family to 5,800 distressed people in the relief camps,” Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy told reporters here.

As the intensity of rains reduced on Monday, the rescue operations reached the last phase, officials said.

“About 50,000 affected people will also be given groceries and essential commodities through mobile units,” Kumaraswamy added.

The district administration has been directed to distribute new uniform and textbooks to the students.

Schools have been asked to complete the syllabus through special classes to compensate for the loss of 20 days in the last three months due to rains.

Around 1,725 personnel from the Indian Army, Navy, Indian Air Force (IAF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), state police, National Cadet Corps (NCC), Home Guards and district officials were involved in the relief operations.

On a request from the state government, the IAF training command in Bengaluru rushed on August 17 one Mi-17 helicopter for rescue and relief operations.

“The chopper carried five sorties each on August 18, 19 to rescue the stranded people despite bad weather. After two attempts on August 18, the chopper reached the landslide affected area Mukkodlu and dropped relief material for the stranded people,” the Air Force said.

Union Minister Ananth Kumar rushed from Bengaluru a truck-load of generic medicines (Jan Aushadi) for diabetes care, blood pressure control, cardiac and kidney ailments to the affected people in the district, about 270 km from the state capital.

In addition, the state-run Karnataka State Road Transport Corp (KSRTC) has donated Rs 11.8 crore to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.