4,320 rescued in Kodagu; rescue work in final phase
Kodagu (Karnataka), Aug 20 : About 4,320 marooned people have been rescued till Monday morning in flood-hit Kodagu district in Karnataka as the rescue work entered its final stage in search of nearly 50 persons reportedly missing or stranded, an official said.
"The rescue work has entered its final stage. The 4,320 who have been rescued have been shifted to 41 relief camps in the district," a Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority official told IANS.
Teams from the Indian Army and Navy along with state officials were screening the villages and towns to rescue anyone still stranded, he added.
The district administration along with the rescue teams are also on the lookout for about 50 persons reportedly missing in the district.
Cut off by landslides and damaged roads, the coffee-growing district, located in the Western Ghats, has been the worst affected in the state due to southwest monsoon since June first week.
The state's emergency operation centre did not get any distress call on Monday, said the official who did not wish to be named.
The unabated rains, leading to flooding and landslips, have claimed eight lives in the district, according to Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's office.
About 50 Dogra Regiment soldiers, 12 naval divers, 62 officials from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 750 fire service officials and Home Guards with boats and hundreds of volunteers have been carrying out relief work.
The Air Force is using M-17 helicopters to airlift the marooned. In all, 1,194 specialised rescuers from the state and central agencies are involved in the drive.
With several relief camps sheltering more people than they can accommodate, the district administration on Monday asked volunteers, NGOs in the state to donate relief materials including clothing, raincoats, kitchen utensils and first aid equipment among other things.
The state-run Karnataka State Road Transport Corp (KSRTC) has resumed all its intra-state bus services towards Madikeri in Kodagu district and flood-hit Kerala.
The bus services were suspended due to flooding and damaged roads due to landslides.
About 123 km of roads are estimated to be damaged due to the rains, while more than 800 homes have been destroyed. Most of the district's arterial roads have been damaged in landslides.
Over the past 24 hours, Kodagu district received an average of 6.1 cm of rainfall, while few regions received a maximum rainfall of up to 10.3 cm, according to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts moderate to heavy rains to continue across coastal districts of Udupi, Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada till Wednesday.
The heavy rains in coastal district of Dakshina Kannada have claimed one life so far, forcing nearly 800 people to shelter in temporary shelters.
The Met office predicts light to moderate rains in south interior districts, including Kodagu, over the next two days.
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Catholic Bishops' body slams Bhagwat's remarks
New Delhi: The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India on Thursday slammed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his reported remark that Pranab Mukherjee, when he was President, had said tribals would turn "anti-national" if there is no "ghar wapsi"Catholic Bishops.'
In a statement issued here, CBCI, a body of Catholic Bishops, referred to reports which said Bhagwat, at an event on Monday, claimed that Mukherjee, while he was President had appreciated ghar wapsi and told him that had it not been for the Sangh's work on reconversion, a section of Adivasis would have turned "anti-national".The CBCI called the report "shocking".
"Fabricated personal conversation being attributed to a former president of India and its posthumous publication with the vested interest of an organization with questionable credibility raises a grave issue of national importance," the CBCI claimed.
"Is it not the violent ghar wapsi program of VHP and other similar organizations, curtailing the exercise of freedom of conscience of economically deprived tribals, the real anti-national activity?" it asked.
'Ghar wapsi' is a term used by the RSS and affiliated organisations to refer to reconversion of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism, based on the belief that they were originally Hindus before converting to other religions.
The CBCI also questioned why Bhagwat did not speak about it while Mukherjee was alive.
"We, the 2.3 percent of Indian citizens who are Christians feel extremely hurt by such manipulated and motivated propaganda unleashed," it said.
In a post on X following the statement issued by CBCI, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien said, "Speak up. This is a start!"
"Bishops body have issued a statement condemning remarks made by Dr Mohan Bhagwat and RSS for defaming the Christian community," he said.
O'Brien added that they should ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi more questions, including why Christmas Day has been turned into "Good Governance Day".
The TMC leader, in a blogpost earlier this month, had said "hard questions" must be asked to the government with regards to the Christian community, including why the FCRA has been 'weaponised', and why has Manipur been 'ignored'.
