Flood victims of Savadi's native taluk still homeless

A good four-and-a-half months after the Krishna river ravaged villages on its banks in Athani taluk, Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi’s native taluk, the flood-hit families of Naganur P K village are still homeless.

As many as 20 flood-affected families of Naganur P K village are staying at a relief centre at Radderhatti village, along with their livestock.

The agrarian families in the village had lost their houses and standing crop to the swollen Krishna river this August. The families were shifted to the relief centre, 7 km away from the flood-hit village. Financial distress and government apathy in distributing the compensation have forced the hapless farmers to take shelter at the relief centre for the past four months.

The displaced families were left to fend for themselves at the relief centre, which lacks bare minimum facilities including safe drinking water and proper toilets. Floodwaters have rendered their farmlands unfit for cultivation. The farmers at the relief centre are struggling to find fodder for their cattle.

The aggrieved farmers said they are finding it difficult to send their wards to the school at Naganur P K village from the relief centre.

The state government had announced a relief of Rs 5 lakh for those who’d lost their houses completely to the floods. Further, it said that Rs 1 lakh was deposited into the banks accounts of the victims. But the affected claim that they have not received the money.

The displaced families poured out their woes to DH, “Apart from an ex gratia of Rs 10,000 and a PDS kit, we have not received anything. Most of the houses in the village have been damaged completely in the August flood.

“The government has conducted survey and promised Rs 5 lakh for the affected, but nothing has come our way. Meanwhile, the officials have said a fresh list of beneficiaries will be prepared,” said Anand Kamble, Ramesh Kamble and others sheltered at the relief centre.

“If this is the situation of the villages in DCM Laxman Savadi’s native taluk, imagine the plight of the flood-affected in other villages,” they said.