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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Drug peddler's property worth Rs 1 crore attached in Srinagar
Srinagar (PTI): Property worth Rs 1 crore belonging to a notorious drug peddler was on Saturday attached in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, police said.
A double-storey house on eight marlas of land situated at Wantpora Eidgah, belonging to Basit Bilal Dar, a notorious drug peddler, valued at approximately Rs 1 crore, a police spokesperson said.
He said Dar is involved in two cases registered under various sections of the NDPS Act.
During investigation, it was established that the accused had acquired the said property through illicit proceeds generated from drug trafficking activities, the spokesperson said.
Consequently, the property was attached under the provisions of the NDPS Act. The attachment proceedings were conducted in the presence of the two independent witnesses, strictly in accordance with the prescribed legal procedures, he said.
As per the attachment order, the owner has been restrained from selling, leasing, transferring, altering, or creating any third-party interest in the property till further orders, the spokesperson added.
