Ambareesh to be cremated at Kanteerava Studio on Monday
Bengaluru, November 25: The cremation of the mortal remains of former minister and senior actor Ambareesh would be held at the Kanteerava Studio in the city on Monday with full state honours, said Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
Speaking to reporters after reviewing the place where the cremation would be held at the Kanteerava Studio here on Sunday evening, the CM said that the body would be airlifted from Mandya at 7.30 am and brought to HAL Airport. From there, the body would be brought in a procession to the Studio where the cremation would be held in the afternoon, he said.
Police security
As a precautionary measure, police department was directed to take up security measures around the Studio during the cremation. The security was beefed up in strategic places in the city, he said.
Memorial from government
“Ambareesh will stay in our hearts forever. In order to remember him forever, the government has decided to build a memorial on the place where he would be cremated”, he said.
Dignitaries to participate during cremation
Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Minister DK Shivakumar and other elected representatives and other dignitaries would take part during the cremation of Ambareesh. Apart from them, noted actors Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Shivaraj Kumar, Jai Jagdish, Dwarakesh, Sudeep, Darshan, Directors, Producers and others from film industry would also take part in it.
‘Following the death of Ambareesh, the state government has announced state mourning for three days. During these days, the national flag would be hoisted half-mast to respect the departed soul”.
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298 persons killed in Wayanad landslides: Govt tells Parliament
New Delhi (PTI): A total of 298 people were killed during the landslides that hit Kerala's Wayanad district last year, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.
Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said that while the Centre does not maintain a central data of deaths/missing persons due to disasters, including landslides, the Kerala government informed it that the total number of deaths due to the landslide in Wayanad was 298.
Out of these, 32 missing persons have been declared as deceased, the minister told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
Asked about the compensation provided by the Centre to the state, Rai said that based on a report of the inter-ministerial central team (IMCT), the central government approved an amount of Rs 153.47 crore, subject to the adjustment of 50 per cent of balance available in the state disaster response fund account, for the landslides, flash flood of 2024.
The amount also includes assistance for the air bills for utilising the services of the Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters for rescue and relief, as per actual, and actual expenditure for the clearance of debris, he said.
Besides, an amount of Rs 388 crore (Rs 291.20 crore central share plus Rs 96.80 crore state share) has been allocated to the Government of Kerala for the financial year 2024-25 in SDRF, he said.
The instalment of Rs 145.60 crore of the central share was released on July 31, 2024.
The second instalment of Rs 145.60 crore of the central share was also released on October 1, 2024 in advance to the state, the minister said.
He added that the Kerala Accountant General reported a balance of Rs 394.99 crore in its SDRF account as on April 1, 2024.
Thus, "sufficient fund" is available in the SDRF account of the state for relief operations, he said.
Rai said Kerala conducted a Post Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA) estimating a total requirement of Rs 2,219 crore for recovery and reconstruction plan.
The landslides destroyed large tracts of three Wayanad villages--Punchirimattom, Chooralmala and Mundakkai--apart from some in Attamala when the disaster struck on July 30 last year.
