CM justifies delay in flood relief

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday justified the delay on the part of the Centre announcing a flood relief package for the state.

"Why is the delay? It's because Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka have faced floods. The Centre will announce (relief) for all the states together," he told reporters.

Yediyurappa has sought an interim relief package of ₹3,000 crore whereas the Opposition Congress and JD(S) have sought ₹5,000 crore. The Congress has accused the Centre of delaying financial aid for the state, pointing out that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had not provided any assurance despite conducting an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas.

Meanwhile, Sandalwood actor Puneeth Rajkumar met Yediyurappa and donated ₹5 lakh to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to assist flood relief.

Nodal officers appointed

The State government on Thursday appointed senior IAS officers to monitor relief works in 22 flood-hit districts.

The nodal officers are as follows: Mahendra Jain - Raichur, Yadgir, Koppal; Rajneesh Goel - Belagavi, Bagalkot; G Kalpana - Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar; Rajeev Chawla - Shivamogga, Chikkamaglauru; V Manjula - Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri; Sandeep Dave - Ballari, Davangere; B H Anil Kumar - Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi; E V Ramana Reddy - Vijayapura, Kalaburagi; Rajkumar Khatri - Hassan, Kodagu.