Karnataka floods: BS Yediyurappa meets Narendra Modi in Delhi, appeals for release of funds for relief work

New Delhi: Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday and appealed for release of funds immediately to take up relief work in the flood- and rain-ravaged state. Responding to his appeal, the prime minister assured him about sending Central study team soon to assess the damage due to the flood, the chief minister said in the national capital after the meeting. “The state is hit by a calamity that has not taken place in the last 108 years. Fifteen days ago, there was drought situation, but today dams are full and because of excess water released from Maharashtra there is damage caused… We have brought it to the notice of the prime minister,” Yediyurappa said. The Karnataka chief minister said the prime minister “understood every thing” and soon he will be sending a team for assessment. “We have asked for release of funds as immediate relief. He (prime minister) said, he will discuss and let us know. I’m confident that he is in the know of the situation in the state as he has already gathered the information. Let’s wait and see,” he added. Recently, Yediyurappa had requested the Centre to release Rs 3,000 crore as interim relief immediately to take up rehabilitation work. Yediyurappa also met Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Civil Aviation, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The chief minister was accompanied by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi. Joshi later tweeted:

Met Civil Aviation Minister @HardeepSPuri ji On the issues of Karnataka pertaining to Civil Aviation Ministry along with CM @BSYBJP & other union ministers, MLAs from state & Requested the minister for Regular Service Of Air India & Indigo to Mumbai from Hubballi pic.twitter.com/eN9OuwkUBP

— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) August 16, 2019

Later, Puri said in a tweet that they “discussed issues related to aviation access to Karnataka”.

Delighted to receive Karnataka CM Shri BS Yediyurappa Ji along with my colleagues in the Council of Ministers Sh @JoshiPralhad & Sh @SureshAngadi_, fmr CM Sh @JagadishShettar & others.

We discussed issues related to aviation access to Karnataka.@BSYBJP pic.twitter.com/WxqotK4ipo

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 16, 2019

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Hitting out at the BJP-led Central government over the “delay” in announcing relief, despite Union home minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman personally assessing the situation, the Opposition parties-both Congress and JD(S) had demanded immediate release of Rs 5,000 crore as interim relief. Asked if there was any assurance from the prime minister on granting Rs 3,000 crore as immediate relief, Yediyurappa merely said: “According to an estimate, the loss is over Rs 40,000 crore.” “They include damaged) houses, roads, and bridges. We have to find solutions to all these things. We have informed the prime minister about all these things,” he added. According to a release from the Chief Minister’s Office, during the 45-minute meeting, Yediyurappa appraised Modi about the grave situation of the flood-hit areas in the state and explained that the losses suffered due to floods was unseen before, and more funds are required to take up relief measures and rebuild the lives of the victims. Chief Secretary to Government TM Vijay Bhaskar, Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister P Ravikumar were present at the meeting, it added. The death toll in flood and rain ravaged Karnataka has reached 62 till Thursday night, while 14 people are still classified as missing, and nearly seven lakh people have been evacuated till date. As many as 943 relief camps are operational, where clean drinking water, food and other relief materials are being provided to 3,57,243 people housed in them. According to the government, 103 taluks in 22 districts have been affected by floods and incessant rains in the past few days, resulting in loss of agriculture and horticulture crops on 5.35 lakh hectares and damaging 71,234 houses.