Karnataka: 5 lakh hectare of crops destroyed, 24 dead due to heavy rains since Sept

News Network
November 22, 2021

Bengaluru, Nov 22: As many as 24 persons lost their lives due to tragedies related to the heavy rainfall in Karnataka since September. The rains have also caused loss of agricultural crops in five lakh hectares in the state.

These were some of the important points that emerged from the Sunday evening meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai at his home office, Krishna, to review the damage caused by incessant rains in various parts of the state.

According to sources, the preliminary report on the damages stated that 658 houses were completely damaged and 8,495 houses were partially damaged. It has also resulted in the death of 191 livestock.

Around 5 lakh hectares of agricultural crops were lost and the horticulture crop loss has been assessed at 30,114 hectares. The continuous rains have damaged 2,203 kilometres of roads in the state.

As many as 165 bridges are also damaged. The report mentioned that 1,225 school buildings, 39 public health centre (PHC) buildings in various districts are also severely damaged by rains. 1,674 electric poles are damaged and 278 transformers have also suffered damages, the report says.

Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagar, Hassan districts have suffered extensively.

An amount of Rs 689 crore has been made available with District Commissioners in districts under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF). The Chief Minister Bommai has assured allocation of more funds if necessary.

Officers of the Agriculture department at all levels were instructed to conduct surveys of crop losses. Crops in 3.43 lakh hectares were affected due to incessant rains in August and September affecting 1.5 lakh farmers and Rs 130 crore has been released for them. Compensation for 79,000 farmers is pending and Chief Minister Bommai instructed for the release of Rs 79 crore towards clearing the compensation due for them.

Action for immediate release of Rs 1 lakh each as the first installment of relief for those lost their houses. Officers have been instructed to take action for speedy disbursal of crop loss insurance amount by the insurance companies. Orders were issued to take up the road repair works immediately after the rain spell in the meeting.

It was also suggested to take up the repair of irrigation tanks on war-footing. The government has also decided to release Rs 25 lakh for each zone in the BBMP limits for pothole fillings. Instructions for submitting ward wise reports on damages in the BBMP limits have been given.

Home Guards, Civil Defence Force teams are ready to take up the rescue and relief work. Officers were instructed to augment their strength, if necessary in the meeting.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 13,2025

gazanorth.jpg

The director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza has described as “hell” the situation in the north of the strip which has been under an Israeli ground offensive and siege for “100 days”.

“The situation is literally like hell,” Munir al-Barsh said on Sunday, referring to daily Israeli attacks and the regime’s ban on food delivery to medical staff trapped in the north’s hospitals.

He added that “hospitals in northern Gaza have turned into mass graves.”

Al-Barsh noted that the offensive and the destruction of hospitals and infrastructure and any sign of life in the north are aimed to empty the region of its residents.

“The Israeli occupation has been deliberately destroying the health system since the very first moment,” he said, adding that “the destruction of hospitals was the greatest evidence of the [Israeli] genocide.”

According to his statements, 5,000 people have been killed or gone missing, while 9,500 others have been injured since the start of Israel’s offensive on the north of Gaza in early October 2024. The regime’s forces have also abducted about 2,300 people, including 65 medical staff, during the ongoing offensive.

Al-Barsh slammed the “disgraceful” silence of the international community on Israel’s atrocities, which he said, has “deepened the suffering of innocent civilians.”

Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 46,565 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 109,660 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.

However, the UK’s Lancet medical journal estimates the actual number of deaths in the war is much higher than the official toll.

According to the study, figures reported by the Palestinian health ministry likely undercounted the death toll by 41 percent in the first nine months of the war as the Gaza Strip’s healthcare infrastructure unraveled.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 4,2025

Mangaluru: In a shocking case of fraud, six individuals posing as officials from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) swindled a beedi businessman of Rs 25 to 30 lakh in cash and five mobile phones at Kolnad in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada on Friday night.

The incident came to light after Mohammed Iqbal, 27, lodged a complaint with the police, stating that his father, a beedi trader, was targeted by the imposters.

According to the complaint, the six accused arrived at the businessman’s residence around 8:10 pm in a car with Tamil Nadu registration plates. Claiming to be ED officials, they announced that they had orders to search the house and began confiscating mobile phones from the family members.

The fraudsters reportedly discovered Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh in cash, which the businessman had kept aside for business purposes. They claimed that keeping such a large amount was illegal and threatened to arrest him unless he complied. By 10:30 pm, the group left the house, instructing the businessman to submit documents at the ED office in Bengaluru to reclaim the money.

Later, upon discussing the incident with his family, Iqbal realized that the individuals were not ED officials but fraudsters who had impersonated authorities to rob them.

A case has been registered at Vittal Police Station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. An investigation is underway, and the police have promised swift action to apprehend the culprits.

Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Yathish N, along with senior officers, visited the crime scene and assured the family that the perpetrators would be brought to justice at the earliest.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 6,2025

Bengaluru: An eight-month old baby has been detected with the human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in a Bengaluru hospital on Monday, with reports going viral online. This is likely the first reported case of HMPV in the country after the recent spike in China.

The baby is reportedly undergoing treatment in a private hospital in northern Bengaluru.

The Karnataka state health department has maintained that there is no cause for concern.

"We don't know what strain of virus is spreading in China. Without knowing that, we cannot say that this reported case is concerning. We have been reviewing all influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) from December to check for any strain that is concerning. There is no such concerning spike across the state or country," said a well-placed source in the state health department.

The HMPV is a known virus (first discovered in 2001) that causes respiratory symptoms similar to that of a common cold, largely affecting children below the age of five. It is not a new virus.

Cases have been reported in the past, especially in the winter season, note experts and health department officials, making it not an immediate concern, unless an unusual spike is observed.

In December 2024, 714 suspected cases of HMPV were tested in 16 Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs) across the country, of which only nine were confirmed positive.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.