Flood situation in Karnataka remains grim; 10 people dead in last two days
Belagavi, July 25: The flood situation in Karnataka continued to remain grim with 10 people losing their lives in rain related incidets and two reported missing over the past two days, even as Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Sunday that he would write to the Centre to release funds for carrying out flood relief work.
Belagavi, Uttara Kannada, Dharwad and Haveri bore the brunt of the heavy downpour among the 11 affected districts, officials said.
Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Authority commissioner Dr Manoj Rajan said 10 people have lost their lives in the state so far while two are still missing.
He said 46,425 people have been evacuated to safety while over 31,000 people have been put up in 246 relief camps.
"We are receiving excellent coordination from SDRF, NDRF, Fire forces, Coast Guard, Navy, Army, Police, Dam authorities with untiring efforts of the District administration," Rajan told PTI.
He said KSDMA is monitoring and managing the flood risk, rescue and relief operations.
Meanwhile, Yediyurappa told reporters after inspecting flood affected areas in Belagavi district that he would write to the Centre to release funds to enable the state carry out relief work in the flood hit regions.
The Chief Minister said 19,035 people in the district have been evacuated, while 8,975 people have been shifted to 89 relief centres.
Food and accommodation for them has been taken care of, he said.
"Today I visited places like Nipani and Sankeshwara and flood relief centres.
We had discussed the problems and the prevailing flood situation in Belagavi.
Flood-related damage has occurred in 113 villages in seven taluks of Belagavi," Yediyurappa said.
He attributed the floods to release of excess water from dams in the Krishna river in Maharashtra, where catchment areas had received torrential rain.
He said officials here were in touch with their Maharashtra counterparts and were keeping an eye on the discharge.
"We are keeping an eye on the flow of water. Since all the dams on Krishna have filled up, the outflow has been increased, due to which there is flood situation in various parts of the district," the Chief Minister said.
He cautioned that the intensity of flood may increase.
About the flood relief measures in the district, he said seven NDRF and 15 SDRF teams, fire and emergency services, helicopters, Coast Guard and members of village level disaster management teams have been pressed into rescue and evacuation operations.
The Chief Minister said he would arrange for release of more funds and added that which is required for the time being will be released immediately to repair roads and bridges.
He said he would write to the Centre to release funds.
"I am expecting funds from the Centre," he said.
The Chief Minister said he would visit Karwar, the district headquarters town of Uttara Kannada district, on Monday afternoon following large scale flood damage there.
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EAM Jaishankar meets Jamaican PM, gifts over 10 BHISHM Cubes
Kingston (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and discussed ways to further deepen "political, economic and people-to-people cooperation."
Jaishankar also conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Holness.
"Pleased to call on Prime Minister @AndrewHolnessJM in Kingston. Conveyed the greetings of PM @narendramodi," Jaishankar posted on X.
"Discussed deepening our political, economic and people-to-people cooperation. Value his commitment towards further strengthening India-Jamaica relations," the post further read.
Also, the external affairs minister handed over 10 BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes as a gift to Jamaica.
"Formally handed over 10 BHISHM Cubes as a gift from India to Jamaica, in the presence of PM @AndrewHolnessJM, Health Minister @christufton and FM @kaminajsmith," Jaishankar posted on X.
"The BHISHM Cube mobile hospital system, designed for rapid deployment, will help Jamaica during disasters and emergencies. The gift of these cubes is a statement of friendship, a commitment to disaster preparedness, and an outcome of innovation," the post said.
Jaishankar arrived in Kingston on Saturday evening, marking the first leg of his nine-day tour of Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, aimed at further strengthening India's strategic and cultural ties with the Caribbean nations.
Earlier in the day, he interacted with the Indian diaspora and discussed India's ongoing transformation in infrastructure, human development and technology-driven governance and entrepreneurship with them.
He also highlighted the cricket bond between both countries as India gifted a scoreboard to Jamaica.
A scoreboard was dedicated at Sabina Park in Kingston. It is the home of the Jamaica cricket team and is the only Test cricket ground in the Caribbean island nation.
The minister expressed hope that the new scoreboard would witness many memorable innings, including those symbolising the enduring friendship between the two countries.
Cricket has long been a strong cultural bridge between India and Jamaica, which is part of the West Indies cricket team.
Jamaican players, including Chris Gayle, Courtney Walsh and Michael Holding, have played a major role in shaping the legacy of West Indies cricket in the international arena, contributing to its dominance in earlier decades and its continued global appeal.
