Properties worth Rs 4.56 cr damaged due to heavy rains in dist: DC
Chikmagaluru, June 15: Deputy Commissioner M K Srirangaiah said that properties worth Rs 4.56 crore damaged due to heavy rains that lashed the district for the last couple of days.
Speaking to reporters at his office here on Thursday, the DC said that the district has got 228 per cent more rain against normal rainfall during this period. Four taluks like Mudigere, Koppa, Sringeri and NR Pura have been receiving heavy downpour and rivers Tunga, Bhadra and Hemavati were flowing above the danger level. However, the plain areas like Kaduru, Birur and Tarikere region have received 150 per cent rainfall against normal rainfall. But no casualties were reported due to rains in the district, he said.
Because of the rain, nine cattle were killed and compensation was given to the owners of seven cattle. Apart from this, 18 houses were damaged in the rain and now, ten houses were given Rs 10,000 each compensation. Survey is being conducted to assess the loss of properties, he said.
Because of the damage of roads, drainages and bridges, the district has incurred Rs 4.56 crore loss. As the trees fell on the electric lines, the MESCOM has incurred a loss of Rs 2 crore. In some areas, the power supply was hampered as the electric lines were disconnected. Once the rain receded, the electricity lines would be restored, he said.
On Wednesday, the some places like Datta Peetha, Attigundi and others were suffered due to power problem, but it was restored immediately. Because of the heavy rains, road connectivity is suspended as water is flowing on the Hebbala bridge connecting Kalasa and Horanadu. Revenue and police departments were deputed to look into it, he said.
He also got a report that areca plantations worth Rs 50 lakh were damaged as trees fell on them and water clogging in Koppa and Sringeri. Horticulture and Revenue Departments were directed to conduct the survey and disburse compensation immediately, the DC said.
As soon as the authorities got the news that traffic movement on Charmudu ghat section was suspended following land sliding, the district administration has taken steps to clear it and allowed the traffic movement. Alternative routes were made available for the vehicle users via Kottigehara, Kalasa and Kudremukha, he said.
Excluding Chikmagalur, Kaduru and Tarikere, schools and colleges were declared holiday in the district. All revenue officials were directed to be in head quarter to face any eventuality. Because of the rains, people are happy, he said.
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BJP writes to EC about 'non-deployment' of central forces to avert clash
Kolkata (PTI): The BJP on Sunday wrote to the Election Commission alleging that its workers were not given security and came under attack while travelling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Brigade Parade Ground on March 14 and sought action over the alleged non-deployment of central forces by police.
In a letter to the poll panel, BJP leader Shishir Bajoria claimed that buses carrying party workers to the rally were targeted with bricks in the Girish Park area of north Kolkata, leaving several activists injured, some of whom were hospitalised.
Trouble broke out in the area when BJP activists objected to the putting up of flexes which read 'Boycott BJP', before the house of state minister Shashi Panja and tore down the flexes. Heavy brick batting followed as both sides regrouped along Central Avenue, and the window panes on the ground-floor room of Panja's residence were damaged in stone pelting.
The minister claimed she and several of her party members were injured in the brickbatting by rally-bound BJP supporters.
In the letter, the BJP alleged that despite a substantial deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) ahead of the elections, the forces were not present at the site of the disturbance to ensure the safety of its workers and leaders.
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Putting the onus on TMC for the violence, the letter said, "A large number of buses bringing BJP 'karyakartas' to attend the rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Brigade Parade Ground were subjected to large-scale brick-batting and violence, resulting in several BJP leaders sustaining injuries, many of whom had to be hospitalised."
Attaching purported photos and videos of the clash to back up their claims of TMC instigation, the letter said: "What was particularly of grave concern was that despite a big deployment of CAPF well before the polls, their complete absence at the spot during the disturbance, or in any part of the city of Kolkata."
"We would like to put on record that the presence of Kolkata Police at the spot of disturbance establishes the fact that they had an advance intelligence report of possible violence and yet kept the CAPF out," the BJP leader said in the letter to the CEC Gyanesh Kumar, and Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal.
"Given the seriousness of the incident and the injuries sustained by several of our karyakarta, it raises concerns among citizens regarding the effective deployment of CAPF for preventing violence, and ensuring a free and fair electoral environment," the letter said.
"We request your good office to kindly take the strongest possible action against those who were responsible for this non-deployment of CAPF, resulting in this incident and ensure that in future deployment is carried out in a manner that truly serves its intended purpose of area domination, confidence building, and timely intervention wherever law and order situations arises from now till the elections are over," the letter said.
The BJP also reminded the commission that a party delegation had earlier met the full bench of the poll body on March 9 and raised concerns that CAPF personnel were being deployed for route marches in peaceful areas and highways instead of in locations requiring voter confidence-building measures.
At least eight persons, including a police officer, were injured in brickbatting, which broke out half an hour before the arrival of the Prime Minister at the Brigade Rally. The clash continued for about an hour as both sides fought a pitched battle on the road and nearby by-lanes before reinforcements brought the situation under control.
