Mangaluru: MLC Ivan D’Souza has urged the state government to provide compensation to the flood victims like the one given to the flood victims of Kodagu by the previous coalition government.
Addressing the reporters here on Tuesday, August 13, D’Souza said, “though Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has announced Rs 10,000 as the immediate compensation, but no victim has received that amount so far. As the cabinet has not been expanded so far, Yediyurappa needs to go everywhere, which is really a tough task. Though Chief Minister Yediyurappa has orally announced compensation, officials are not ready to disburse compensation, as CM’s direction has not been given in writing. Though the district administration has handled the tough situation of the flood, the assurance of the Chief Minister has not materialised”.
Meanwhile, D’Souza took the union government to task claiming that though two union ministers had conducted an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas, compensation has not been announced so far. “ When the same situation prevailed in the year 2009, the then prime minister Manmohan Singh and UPA president Sonia Gandhi had conducted an aerial survey and announced a total of Rs 2000 crore as compensation. But, the existing union government has not announced compensation so far, despite Karnataka state losing properties worth Rs 1 lakh crore. Union government has not sent any officials to state to assess the losses. It looks like state leaders of the BJP have failed to convince the union government,” he said.
Informing about the statistics of casualties and properties lost in Dakshina Kannada district, he said, three persons died and 1,019 people have been sheltered in 31 gruel centres. Around 6937.99 hectare agricultural land was damaged and losses have been estimated around Rs 274.64 crore. Though district Congress has already submitted a memorandum to the chief minister in this regard, compensation has not been released so far”.
Congress leaders Shashidhar Hegde, Naveen D’Souza, Nagendra among others were present.
