Yediyurappa meets PM, seeks immediate funds for flood relief
Bengaluru, Aug 16: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and appealed for the release of funds immediately to take up relief works in the flood and rain-ravaged state.
Responding to his appeal, the Prime Minister assured tosend central study team soon to assess the damage due to the floods, the Chief Minister said in the national capital after the meeting.
"State is hit by a calamity that has not taken place in the last 108 years. Fifteen days ago there was drought situation, but today dams are full and because of excess water released from Maharashtra there is damage caused, about all these things we have brought to the notice of the Prime Minister," Yediyurappa said.
The Karnataka Chief Minister said the Prime Minister "understood everything" and soon he will be sending a team for assessment.
"We have asked for release of funds as immediate relief. He (PM) said, he will discuss and let us know. I'm confident that he is in know of the situation in the state as he has already gathered information. Let's wait and see," he added.
Recently, Yediyurappa had requested the Centre to releaseRs 3,000 crore as interim relief immediately to take up rehabilitation work.
Hitting out at the BJP-led Central government over the "delay" in announcing relief, despite Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman personally assessing the situation, the opposition parties-both Congress andJD(S) had demanded immediate release of Rs 5,000 crore as interim relief.
Asked if there was any assurance from the Prime Minister on Rs 3,000 crore as immediate relief, Yediyurappa merely said: "According to an estimate losses over Rs 40,000 crore."
"They include-(damaged) houses, roads, bridges- we have to find solutions to all these things. We have informed the Prime Minister about all these things," he added.
According to a release from the Chief Minister's office,during the 45-minute meeting Chief Minister appraised the PrimeMinister about the grave situation of the flood-hit areas in the state and explained that the losses suffered due to floods was unseen before, and more funds are required to take up relief measures and rebuild the lives of the victims.
Chief Secretary to Government T M Vijay Bhaskar, Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister, P Ravikumar werepresent at the meeting, it added.
The death toll in flood and rain ravaged Karnataka has reached 62 till Thursday night, while 14 people are still classified as missing, and nearly seven lakh people have been evacuated till date.
As many as 943 relief camps are operational, where clean drinking water, food and other relief materials are being provided to 3,57,243 people housed in them.
According to the government, 103 taluks in 22 districts have been affected by floods and incessant rains in the past few days, resulting in loss of agriculture and horticulture crops on 5.35 lakh hectares and damaging 71,234 houses.
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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.
