Nirmala Sitharaman visits flood-hit Kodagu, promises Army help
Kodagu (Karnataka), Aug 24 : Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday visited the flood-hit Kodagu district and assured the people of Indian Army's help in rebuilding the devastated region's roads.
"I can assure you that the task force of the Indian Army's Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will visit as consultants and advise the administration on how to build roads in hilly areas," Sitharaman told reporters in Madikeri, about 280km from the state capital Bengaluru.
Due to heavy rains and landslips, several of the district's arterial roads have been battered, disconnecting many villages and towns.
The Defence Minister visited Kushalnagar and Madapura in the district, which were severely affected by heavy rains and flash floods last week.
She also interacted with few flood-affected people sheltered at a relief camp at Madikeri in the district.
"I will meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who also takes care of national disaster relief funding, (Minister for Road Transport and Highways) Nitin Gadkari and also submit a report to Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) on the district's situation," Sitharaman said.
The Minister, who is an MP from Karnataka, said the Centre's financial aid to the region in distress will be decided after an assessment of the loss.
According to preliminary estimates, the district has suffered losses worth Rs 1,140 crore to public and private property as a result of the rains, said Kodagu Deputy Commissioner P. Sreevidya.
"At least 34 village panchayats have been badly affected and the municipalities in Kushalnagar and Madapura suffered heavy losses as they are in the catchment area of Harangi river," she said.
The district administration is also working on providing temporary shelters to those affected by floods and residing in relief camps. "We have identified land and an additional deputy commissioner rank officer will oversee the rehabilitation," Sreevidya added.
About 75 Army engineering task force personnel will also be assisting the district officials in restoring the critical roads of the district, the state's Relief Commissioner Gangaram Baderiya said in a statement earlier.
About 5,000 people are currently sheltered in 51 relief camps across the district, with more than 1,100 houses have been destroyed in floods and landslips.
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Jharkhand polls: Over 13 pc voter turnout recorded in 43 assembly seats till 9 AM
Ranchi (PTI): Nearly 13.04 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 AM on Wednesday in 43 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting is underway in the first phase, officials said.
Polling began around 7 AM in these constituencies across 15 districts and will continue till 5 PM.
A total of 683 candidates are trying their luck, including former CM Champai Soren and ex-MP Geeta Kora.
Voting in 950 booths will end at 4 PM, though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to exercise their franchise, an official said.
Long queues of voters were seen outside several booths in the morning.
Simdega seat registered the highest voter turnout at 15.09 per cent, Ranchi at 12.06 per cent and Seraikela-Kharsawan at 14.62 per cent.
Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar has cast his vote at the ATI polling booth in Ranchi.
"Today is the first phase of voting for the Jharkhand Assembly elections. I urge all voters to exercise their constitutional right to vote as soon as possible and vote with full enthusiasm in this festival of democracy. Remember, first vote and then refreshment!" Gangwar said.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren sought the backing of the people.
In a post on X, he said, "If you like our work, please support us. I promise that I will do 10 years of work in the next 5 years so that no one can stop our pace of progress."
While the JMM-led coalition is seeking to retain power riding on its welfare schemes, including Maiyan Samman Yojna, the BJP has been campaigning with its aggressive Hindutva agenda, infiltration and alleged corruption by the current dispensation.
Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP chief JP Nadda, held several rallies where they attacked the JMM-led coalition over alleged corruption and infiltration.
INDIA bloc leaders, including Congress' Rahul Gandhi, its president Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his wife and legislator Kalpana Soren highlighted welfare schemes and accused the BJP-led Centre of unleashing all the central agencies, including ED, CBI and I-T, against opposition leaders.
A total of 1.37 crore voters are eligible to participate in the voting on Wednesday.
Altogether 683 candidates - 609 men, 73 women and a third gender person - are in the fray in the 43 seats.
Out of the 43 assembly seats, 17 are reserved for general, 20 for scheduled tribes and 6 seats for scheduled castes.
A total of 15,344 polling stations have been set up for the first phase of elections.
Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said all preparations for voting have been completed.
The responsibility of the entire voting process at 1,152 polling stations will be in the hands of women, Kumar said, adding that 24 booths will be manned by handicapped people.
Since the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, a total of Rs 208.78 crore worth of illegal material and cash has been seized, he said.
Till Tuesday, 58 cases have been registered for violation of the Model Code of Conduct, including a maximum of 29 in Garhwa district.
Both the NDA and INDIA bloc pulled out all the stops to ensure their victories in the elections with BJP focusing on ‘Roti, Beti, Maati’ and the INDIA bloc trying to capitalise on ‘suppression of the voice of a tribal CM”. PM Modi did a mega road show in Ranchi on Sunday which attracted huge crowds.
As far as key seats are concerned - former CM Champai Soren, contesting on the BJP ticket in Seraikela, faces a challenge from JMM’s Ganesh Mahli.
BJP’s Geeta Kora, wife of former Chief Minister Madhu Koda, locked horns with Congress’ Sona Ram Sinku in Jagannathpur.
Congress veteran Rameshwar Oraon will lock horns with AJSU’ Shanti Bhagat in Lohardaga.
In Jamshedpur (West), JD (U) candidate Saryu Roy locked horns with Congress’ Banna Gupta.
The second phase of elections will be held on November 20 in the state while the counting of votes will be done on November 23.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the contest was close, with the JMM winning 30 seats and the BJP securing 25, down from 37 in 2014.
The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance won a comfortable majority with 47 seats.
Currently, the strength of the assembly stands at 74, with the JMM-led ruling alliance comprising 26 from the JMM, 17 from Congress, and one from RJD.
