Rain fury: Karnataka CM Bommai holds meeting with officials to assess situation
Bengaluru(PTI): As rains continue to wreak havoc in different parts of Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday held a meeting with Deputy Commissioners of coastal districts, which have been worst affected, in Udupi to assess the situation and to take stock of the rescue and relief operations.
Rains have continued in several parts of Malnad and coastal Karnataka causing flood like situation, also there have been several incidents of land-slide and sea-erosion.
Rivers in the region have swelled, several dams have reached the brim and there is severe waterlogging in agriculture fields and low-lying areas causing damages to crops and properties.
Similar is the situation in adjoining districts of Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan. Rains and increase in water level in rivers and dams is a cause of worry in a few northern districts of Belagavi, Vijayanagara and Yadgir.
Water is being let out through 15 crest gates at Yadgir's Basava Sagara dam into Krishna river. The reservoir is receiving an inflow of about one lakh cusecs. People living along the river side have been asked to vacate to safer areas.
With Vijayanagara's Tungabhadra dam almost reaching its capacity and increasing water flow in the river, there are threats of some of the monuments at the heritage site of Hampi like Purandara Mantapa getting inundated, sources said.
"I'm holding a meeting in Udupi regarding the flood damage control, where issues pertaining to Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts will also be discussed, after that I will be visiting Maravanthe beach and other places that have been affected by rains in Udupi," CM Bommai said earlier.
Speaking to reporters in Udupi, he said he will not be visiting Uttara Kannada now and, instead, visit the district along with Belagavi in a few days.
Bommai had on Tuesday visited rain and land-slide affected Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
