Kumbaragundi residents protest as CM skips visit

Residents of flood-affected villages in Kumbaragundi and Karadigodu in Kodagu staged a protest against Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa for skipping his visit to their villages on Thursday.

After his visit to the relief centre in Nelyahudikeri according to the itinerary, the chief minister left for Bengaluru, skipping the visit to flood-affected villages in Kumbaragundi and Karadigodu.

The chief minister’s abrupt return to Bengaluru left the flood victims seething in anger. The flood-hit victims from Kumbaragundi and Karadigodu accused him of neglecting them.

The residents also questioned why the chief minister had to come all the way from Bengaluru to conduct a meeting and visit the relief centre in Nelyahudikeri. Why did he not visit the flood-hit areas in Kumbaragundi closer to Nelyahudikeri? More than 90 houses had collapsed due to floods in Kumbaragundi alone, they pointed out.

Hundreds of people from the flood-hit villages of Kumbaragundi and Karadigodu waited from 2 pm to 4.30 pm for his arrival.

Sources said the chief minister returned to Bengaluru as dusk had begun to set in and it would be difficult for the chopper to take off in the dark.