Rs 500 crore for repair of roads and bridges damaged due to rains: CM Bommai
Bengaluru, Nov 22: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said Rs 500 crore will be released for repair of roads and bridges that have been damaged due to incessant rains and floods in different parts of the state and instructions have been issued for immediate disbursal of compensation for those whose houses have been damaged.
"Rs 500 crore will be released for the repair of damaged roads and bridges, I have instructed immediate release of Rs 1 lakh (first instalment) to those whose houses have been fully damaged, and also to release money for those whose houses have been partially damaged," Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the survey of crop loss is being taken on a war-footing and as and when the report gets uploaded to the designated app, compensation will be released.
The Chief Minister will be travelling to rain affected parts of Kolar district and Hoskote in Bengaluru rural district, later in the day.
In response to a question, he said the Election Commission has permitted Ministers of the concerned departments and the Chief Minister to travel across the state to take stock of the damage caused by rains and to oversee the relief measures.
The Chief Minister on Sunday had said that he has sought permission from the Election Commission for the Ministers to travel to the rain ravaged districts to oversee the relief work, in the wake of December 10 Legislative Council polls and the Model Code of Conduct being in place.
He had last night chaired a meeting with senior Ministers and officials to review the destruction caused by rains and relief measures undertaken by the government.
A total of 24 people have lost their lives till Sunday evening, due to rains and floods caused by it across the state since the beginning of this month, Karnataka Disaster Management Authority officials said.
As per the preliminary loss and damages estimated by the authority since November 1, as many as 658 houses have been completely damaged, while 8,495 houses have been partially damaged.
While an estimated 191 animals have lost their lives, crops in over 4 lakh hectares have been damaged, out of them 3,79,501 hectares are agriculture crops and 30,114 hectares are horticulture crops.
The data shared by the officials also showed that 2,203 km of roads have been damaged.
Other infrastructure damage till Sunday evening include 1,225 schools, 39 PHCs, 1,674 electric poles and 278 electric transformers.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Train to Kashmir: 22-bogie train's trial run successful on Katra-Srinagar line
Jammu: A 22-bogie train chugged between Katra and Srinagar railway stations on Sunday, officials said, marking the first successful trial run on the newly completed line to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country via rail.
The train, comprising 18 AC coaches, two luggage carriers and two engines, left the Katra railway station at around 8 am, successfully reaching its destination within four hours under the watchful eyes of the railway authorities, the officials said.
This was the first trial run between Katra and Srinagar, and came within six days after the Commissioner of Railway Safety (Northern Circle) Dinesh Chand Deshwal authorised the opening of the newly constructed Broad Gauge line.
He had given the authorisation for the start of public carriage of goods and passenger traffic in a seven-page letter to the ministry and railway authorities, based on his detailed inspection of the track on January 7 and 8.
The CRS referred to his inspection of the newly constructed BG line between the Katra and Reasi section by a motor trolley and on foot, followed by a speed trial on the entire section from Katra to Banihal.
He had then authorised regular opening of the section for passengers and freight traffic at a maximum permissible speed of 85 Kmph on the main line and 15 Kmph on turnout.
The work on the dream project to link Kashmir by train was started in 1997 and it missed several deadlines given geological, topographical and meteorological challenges.
Out of the total 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, 209 km was commissioned in phases with the first phase of the 118 km Qazigund-Baramulla section commissioned in October 2009, followed by 18 km Banihal-Qazigund in June 2013, 25 km Udhampur-Katra in July 2014 and 48.1 km long Banihal-Sangaldan stretch in February, last year.
The work on the 46-km Sangaldan-Reasi section was also completed in June last year, leaving a total of 17 km stretch between Reasi and Katra. And this section was finally completed in December 2024 as announced by the Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
On January 4, a successful trial run of an electric train was successfully conducted on the Katra-Banihal section. The railways has conducted six trials over the past month on various segments of the track, including the two major milestones of the Anji Khad and Chenab bridges.
Katra-Srinagar Rail Link: First 18-Coach Train Completes Trial Run Successfully pic.twitter.com/p68axcUClX
— Daily Excelsior (@DailyExcelsior1) January 19, 2025
