Karnataka to shift flood-hit people to safer places
Bengaluru, Aug 16: With heavy rains upto 25 cm lashing coastal and south interior districts of Karnataka, the state is working to shift people stranded in flood-hit regions, an official statement said on Thursday.
"Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has discussed with the Air Force officials to rescue people stranded in the districts of Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Hassan, Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru and shift them to safety," a statement from the Chief Minister's Office said.
People living in Hattihole in Kodagu district, about 270 km southwest of here, which has been receiving very heavy rains, will be shifted to safer places soon, the statement said.
"The Chief Minister has directed the district officials to respond to people affected by the rains and open safety shelters if required," it added.
Over the last 24 hours, parts of Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts received extremely heavy rains measuring beyond 24 cm, according to a weather advisory from the Bengaluru division of India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Coastal districts of Udupi received heavy rains upto 11 cm, Uttara Kannada 17 cm, south interior districts of Shivamogga 20 cm and Chikkamagaluru 6 cm.
Districts in the northern part of the state, which have been facing a rainfall deficit, have also received light to moderate rainfall.
Due to the heavy rains, landslides were reported since early this week in several parts of the state, particularly on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru route, leading to several state-run buses and trains suspending their services on rain-affected routes.
The state-run Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has suspended its operations from Bengaluru towards Mangaluru and Kerala, due to landslides, heavy rains and flooded roads, a statement said.
A total of six trains including Karwar-Yesvantpur Express, Yesvantpur-Mangalore Junction Express, were partially cancelled and a few other trains were diverted since Tuesday due to the landslides, the South Western Railway said in a statement.
With the state's reservoirs in the Cauvery basin being filled to their maximum capacity during bountiful rains over the last two months, the incessant rains have been causing the rivers to overflow.
In the Cauvery basin, water from the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) reservoir across Cauvery river in Mandya district, Kabini reservoir in Mysuru district across Kabini river, one of the major tributaries of Cauvery, is being released over the past few days, flooding the nearby towns and villages.
Over 1.2 lakh cusecs of rainwater was released as of Wednesday evening from KRS reservoir, 50,000 cusecs from Kabini reservoir, 15,000 cusecs from Harangi reservoir across Harangi river (tributary of Cauvery) in Kodagu district and 12,000 cusecs from Hemavathi reservoir across Hemavati river (tributary of Cauvery) in Hassan district, officials said.
The Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority has warned the coastal and south interior districts to be braced for heavy rains for the next four days.
District officials in coastal and southern part of the state have formed teams prepared with life jackets, boats and other equipment to undertake rescue operations when required.
Due to high waves and heavy winds, the IMD has asked the fishermen to avoid venturing into the Arabian Sea.
"Fishermen are advised not to venture into the Arabian sea over Karnataka coast, north Kerala coastal and over Lakshadweep area," it said.
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Reports on CM Naidu’s VB-G RAM G Act concerns significant: Siddaramaiah
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said reports of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu flagging concerns over the VB-G RAM G Act’s funding pattern are politically significant and have implications for Centre-State relations.
These concerns assumed importance as they come from a key ally of the BJP whose support is critical to the Narendra Modi government, he said.
Sharing a news article titled "Naidu seeks assistance to state for enforcing new rural jobs law" on his official handle on 'X', Siddaramaiah said the VB-G RAM G Act must be repealed and the MGNREGA Act restored, with necessary reforms.
"The reports that the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu has raised concerns with the Union Government over the implementation of the VB-G RAM G Act - especially regarding the altered funding pattern and the additional burden on states - are politically significant and consequential for Centre–State relations," he said.
Siddaramaiah claimed that for months, the Congress party and opposition-ruled states, including Karnataka, have warned that the VB-G RAM G Act undermines cooperative federalism by shifting financial responsibility onto states.
"A BJP ally now echoing these concerns exposes a clear rupture within the NDA and undermines the BJP’s defence of the law," he said.
Siddaramaiah demanded that the union government and the BJP explain why the same objections were earlier dismissed as political criticism, saying the contrast between the two laws is clear.
He highlighted that under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), rural employment was a legal right backed by assured central funding.
"Under the new Act, that certainty is lost. States are required to implement the programme while sharing the cost, without any statutory guarantee of funds. What was once a guaranteed right of the people has been reduced to a matter of negotiation," the Karanataka CM alleged.
He further alleged that this shift has serious implications, saying when a CM is compelled to seek “alternative financial support” through private discussions, it signals that access to funds is being determined by bargaining power rather than by law.
"In the present political context, this raises the risk that allocations may be influenced by political alignment, adversely affecting Opposition-ruled states, including Karnataka," he said.
Siddaramaiah said if NDA partners, especially the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, find the new framework unsustainable, these concerns must be raised openly in Parliament. They cannot be addressed through selective concessions or private assurances.
"The developments reported today make it clear that the VB-G RAM G Act must be repealed and the MGNREGA Act restored, with necessary reforms. Employment security cannot be converted into a negotiable arrangement. Cooperative federalism must be sustained through guaranteed funding and equal treatment of all states - not through uncertainty and coalition arithmetic," he added.
