JOIN USWater level recedes, woes rise
Much of north Karnataka lay like a muddy swamp with sheets of water across large swathes of the region. The destruction in infrastructure and agriculture is believed to be huge.
Although, the devastation will take weeks to assess, State Power Minister K S Eshwarappa said in Hubli on Sunday that the estimated loss caused to power equipment was about Rs 10 crore.
Most relief officials agreed that only as the water levels decline will the problems in aiding a homeless population exposed to water-borne diseases become evident. The lack of pure drinking water will likely force people to consume water from any available source.
Remedial measures
Anticipating an outbreak of water-borne diseases, the Health Department directed all District Health Officers to take up remedial measures, including disinfecting stagnant water in wells.
Medical check-up facilities have been provided at all relief camps, Disaster Management Secretary H V Parshawanth said.
By all accounts, people’s misery, especially in the worst-hit districts of Bijapur and Raichur, is now likely to rise as the waters begin to slowly recede.
In several villages of Dharwad and Gadag districts, flood victims and the homeless are spending days and nights under the open sky with children and adults not getting enough food to fill their empty bellies.
The water level declined in some Bellary taluks like Siruguppa where villagers of Hachholli gheraoed Tourism Minister Janardhana Reddy who is in charge of Bellary district. In the Talamari taluk of Raichur, the flood victims’anger boiled over as a result of the delay in providing food and other relief materials.
They targeted their ire at Raichur (Rural) MLA Raja Rayappa Nayak and burnt the vehicles of BJP rural area chairman B Thimmareddy and other district-level leaders and officials.
DH News Service