Karnataka CM Yediyurappa seeks Rs 3,000 crore immediate flood relief from the Centre
Bengaluru, Aug 10: Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Saturday sought Rs 3,000-crore aid from the central government for relief works in the state's 14 flood-hit districts in the northwest and coastal regions, battered by heavy monsoon rains and strong surface winds since August 1.
"I sought Rs 3,000-crore central aid for relief works as heavy monsoon rains and floods in the state''s 14 districts across the northwest, central and coastal regions have caused 24 deaths and damaged about 14,000 houses during the last 10 days," Yediyurappa told reporters.
The state government has released Rs 100 crore in the last 2-3 days for rescue and relief operations in the affected districts.
After reviewing the situation in the affected districts, where rains continued unabated, the Chief Minister said floods and landslides claimed 24 lives, while 2,35,105 people were evacuated from the areas and moved to safety.
"In all, 1,57,498 people taking shelter at 624 relief camps in the affected areas are given drinking water, food, medicines, clothes, blankets and other facilities to stay till normalcy returns and their damaged houses were repaired," said Yediyurappa.
Admitting that the flood situation in the affected districts was serious due to incessant rains, the Chief Minister said public property, including roads, highways, state-run buildings, electric poles, transformers and other infrastructure, was damaged.
"The length of the roads and highways damaged is 2,450km and the loss is estimated to be Rs 1,427 crore, as 530 bridges and 56 public buildings were also affected," Yediyurappa said.
Lamenting that that 3,22, 448 hectares of agricultural lands were damaged due to waterlogging or flood waters entering their fields with crops, Yediyurappa said farmers would be compensated under the state and central farm insurance scheme.
"Though 44,013 cattle heads were also evacuated and provided shelter, 222 of livestock perished in the floods," said Yediyurappa.
The 14 affected districts are Bagalkot, Belagavi, Bijapur (Vijayapura), Chikkmagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Dharwad, Gadag, Hassan, Hubballi, Kodagu, Mysore, Shivammoga, Udupi and Uttar Kannada.
Stating that heavy rains in the neighbouring Maharashtra since a week caused flood in the state''s northern region and landslides in the Malnad area, the Chief Minister said he had assessed the damage by aerial survey of the region and visiting the affected districts.
"I am visiting Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Mysuru and Udupi on Sunday for spot assessment of the damage caused by torrential rains and flooding," he added.
Thanking the Central government for its financial assistance, Yediyurappa said 20 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 11 of the Army, 5 of the Navy, 4 choppers from the Air Force, police and the fire and emergency services were involved in the rescue and relief works.
Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited flood-hit Belagavi and Bagalkot districts and took stock of rescue and relief works. She is a Rajya Sabha member from the southern state.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
