K'taka govt releases Rs 200 crore for rain relief, rehabilitation
Bengaluru, Aug 6: As torrential rains continue to batter many parts of Karnataka on Saturday, the State government released Rs 200 crore to take up relief and rehabilitation operations, even as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai instructed constitution of two more State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) contingents.
The Chief Minister, who has tested COVID-19 positive, held a video conference with Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of rain-affected districts, Ministers and officials, and obtained details on flood havoc, landslides, crop losses and relief work undertaken, from his home where he has isolated himself.
While 70 people have lost their lives due to incessant rains from June 1 to August 6; a total of 507 livestock loss have been reported during the period.
Bommai has instructed the officials to constitute the additional SDRF contingents to strengthen relief and rescue systems, his office said in a statement.
"Already, SDRF and NDRF contingents have been deployed in the flood-hit areas. The DCs should maintain constant contact with the teams and take up immediate relief and rehabilitation works," he said.
Further stating that there is no shortage of funds for relief and rehabilitation operations, the Chief Minister said already Rs 200 crore has been released for 21 districts, and the DCs should take immediate action to disburse compensation for houses destroyed or damaged.
According to information, till August 2, a sum of Rs 657 crore was available with the DCs to take up rescue and relief works, and the State government today released Rs 200 crore for 21 districts.
Repair and restoration of roads, bridges and electric supply lines should be taken up immediately, he said, power supply in villages should be restored and DCs should interact with the electricity supply companies (ESCOMS) concerned in this regard.
Adequate stock of electric poles and transformers should be ensured, and crop loss survey should be completed at the earliest and compensation disbursed without any delay, he added.
Bommai wanted the officials to issue flood alerts in advance and instructed for action in this regard at Bennehalla in Gadag district, Varada river banks in Haveri district and other places.
Alerts should be issued to villages downstream before releasing waters from reservoirs, and precautions should be taken to prevent breach of tank bunds, he said.
He wanted the officials to also identify the areas prone to landslides in Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts and to shift the people in these areas to safer places. "People should be provided with good, quality food at the care centres," he said.
While 3,559 houses have been damaged completely due to rains, 17,212 houses have been partially damaged,.
Agriculture crops in 1,29,087 hectares, horticulture crops in 7,942 hectares, 3,162 km of roads, 8,445 km of rural roads, 1,068 bridges and culverts, 4,531 schools, 222 anganwadis have been damaged.
Also, 16,760 electric poles, 1,469 transformers, 409 km of electric wires, and 33 minor irrigation tanks have been damaged.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
