Kodagu flood victims vent ire against govt

Kodagu flood victims expressed their discomfiture against the inordinate delay by the government in distributing compensation to those who lost their houses during the calamity.

During the grievance meeting held at Kaveri Kalakshetra in Madikeri on Tuesday, the victims vented their ire against the indifferent attitude of the administration in the disbursal of compensation and construction of houses.

Kudekal Santhosh, a resident of Makkandoor said he lost his house during the flash floods. The model house provided by the district administration does not have any facility. The houses should be built on at least seven cents of land, he demanded.

Special Additional Deputy Commissioner Jagadish said that for the first time in the history of India, houses for flood victims are built at a cost of Rs 10 lakh each. Under the National Disaster Response Fund, there is a provision to build houses at a budget of Rs 6 lakh. However, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy took a special interest and ordered the construction of 2 BHK houses for the victims, ignoring the objection by the Finance Department, he added.

The construction work of houses will be complete within three months. Currently, there are provisions to disburse Rs 37,000 compensation per hectare of plantation. More compensation can be provided only if the government announces a special package.

Flood victim Satish said that the government has not initiated any measures to provide compensation to those who have lost plantations.

The meeting which was scheduled for the afternoon did not start even after 4 pm. Opposing the delay, the victims staged a protest in front of Kaveri Kalakshetra and shouted slogans against the district administration.

BJP leader M P Devaiah urged the government to not follow a delaying attitude in the matter.