Six more bodies traced; flood toll climbs to 212 in Karnataka

The toll in the rain and flood fury in Karnataka has climbed to 212 with six more bodies being recovered, officials said today.

Four bodies were recovered from Kaduwad near Karwar in Uttara Kannada district, the scene of a landslide that buried eight houses last week during pounding rains, they said.
As many as 19 people were feared to have been buried alive in the incident, of which 11 bodies have been recovered. Forty military and 20 Navy personnel along with three cranes and two excavators are engaged in operations in Kaduwad.

One body each was recovered from Bijapur and Koppal districts.
The number of houses that collapsed or were damaged in the havoc has been officially put at 2,98,713 this morning. As many as 5,300 cattle have been washed away.Some 1497 villages have been damaged in the rains.

A total of 1,619 relief camps have been opened, sheltering 6,59,971 persons. Hundreds of relief workers, supported by Defence personnel, battled all odds to rush relief to thousands of marooned people and helped them to move to safer places.

The state government, which has estimated the loss caused by the rain fury to roads, bridges, culverts, houses, village and infrastructure and standing crops in 25 lakh hectares at about Rs 16,500 crore, mobilised all its resources to provide succour to the flood tormented people, officials said.

The brunt of the rain fury was borne by Bagalkot district with 33 deaths followed by Bijapur (31), Raichur (30), Gulbarga (21), Koppal (20), Bellary (19), Belgaum (12), Gadag (13), Karwar (11), Davangere (7), Dharwad and Bidar (3) each, Chikballapura (2) and Dakshina Kannada (1).

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa continued to camp in the affected areas, monitoring and overseeing relief and rescue operations. He said in Gadag that villages prone to frequent floods would be permanently relocated.

Yeddyurappa, who along with Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy continued aerial survey of the flood-hit districts, told reporters that farmers affected by the rains would be provided seeds at 75 per cent subsidy for sowing operations of the rabi crop.
"This subsidy will be extended not only to small and marginal farmers but to all farmers," he said.
He said he had directed revenue officials to hand over the compensation cheques to affected farmers in accordance with the Central government norms within 10-12 days.
"The families which have suffered partial damage to their houses will be given Rs 5,000 each while those whose houses have collapsed Rs 7,000 each," he said.
Health Minister Sriramulu has directed the departmental authorities to ask all district and taluk level officials to initiate all possible measures to prevent epidemic diseases.