CM Bommai announces release of compensation to farmers for crop damage due to rains

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 22 : Following his visit to the rain-affected areas of Karnataka's Chikkaballapur district on Sunday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has announced compensation for the farmers and the people who have lost their houses after reviewing the assessment of the damage caused by incessant rains in various parts of the state which claimed the lives of 24 people.
The Chief Minister announced some measures to provide immediate relief to the suffering families.
Bommai has ensured the provision of more funds if necessary besides the amount of Rs689cr that is available with the District Collectors under the NDRF fund, sources said.
The chief minister instructed the Officers of the Agriculture department at all levels to engage themselves in conducting surveys of crop losses.
He also instructed to release Rs79cr towards clearing the compensation due for 79000 farmers that are pending. Notably, the crops in 3.43 lakh hectares were affected due to incessant rains in August and September affecting 1.5 lakh farmers, Rs130cr has been released for them. The officers were also instructed to take action for speedy disbursal of crop loss insurance amounts by the insurance companies.
The chief minister also directed for the immediate release of Rs 1 lakh as the first instalment of relief for those who lost their houses. The release of Rs25 lakh for each Zone in BBMP limits for pothole filling was also ordered.
The chief minister has held a meeting at his home office Krishna to review the damage caused by incessant rains in various parts of the state.
The rains have caused extensive damage to Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagar, Hassan district, according to sources.
The preliminary report on the damages indicated that the incessant rains have damaged 658 houses completely and 8495 houses partially with the death of 191 livestock.
In the heavy rains, 5 lakh hectares of agricultural crops were lost besides the loss of 30,114 hectares of Horticulture Crop, said the sources.
Nearly 2203 km of roads were damaged that included 165 bridges. The incessant rains also damaged 1225 schools and 39 Public Health Centres.
Furthering the damage to the property, the rain uprooted 1674 electric poles and damaged 278 transformers.
The repair works of the damaged roads were also ordered on a war footing in the meeting along with the repair of irrigation tanks.
The Home Guards, Civil Defence Force teams have been made ready to take up rescue and relief works. Officers were instructed to augment their strength, if necessary.