Bengaluru, Sept 20: Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said he has directed the Udupi district authority to take flood relief measures immediately.
Mr Bommai further said that army helicopters will be used for rescue efforts if required.
Due to heavy rainfall in the Western Ghats, rivers are in spate.
“I am aware of the floods in Udupi inundating a few villages. I have directed the district authorities to rush a 250-member team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) there. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will also reach there,” he said in a statement.
Several bridges in Karkala taluk, Udupi district were washed away, he said. Efforts are on to rescue the staff at Baje Hydro Project in the district who are stranded in the floodwaters.
The Minister said he would speak to Revenue Minister R Ashoka regarding requestioning a helicopter of the Air Force for the rescue work.
A Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority officials said that a helicopter has already been put on standby to carry out rescue operations there.
Karnataka, the Malnad and the coastal regions have been receiving heavy rainfall since last month amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada are also bearing the brunt of the torrential rains in the region along with Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga and Hassan for the past few days. In North Karnataka, rains have wreaked havoc in Vijayapura, Raichur, Kalaburagi and Bidar. Bengaluru, Mysuru and Tumakuru are also receiving heavy rains in the past few days.
According to the bulletin issued by the KSNDMC, heavy rains are likely in the next few days in Bidar, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Vijayapura, Yadgir, Koppal, Belagavi, Bagalkote, Gadag, Dharwad, Haveri and Ballari districts. There would be widespread moderate to heavy rains at most places with isolated very heavy to extremely heavy rains in Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu and Hassan districts.
Regarding coastal Karnataka, the bulletin said very heavy to extremely heavy rains will take place over Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts. The latest rains come weeks after several parts of the state were lashed by heavy downpour and the relief works were still on.
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