Rs 311-crore proposal sent to govt to take up restoration works, says DC
Mangaluru: A Central team visited the rain-affected areas in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts and inspected the damaged roads, bridges, houses and sea erosion-affected areas on Thursday.
Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V explained the team on the loss of damage to crops, public properties, human lives and cattle.
The DC said that a proposal for Rs 311 crore has been sent to the state government to take up restoration works.
The team visited sea erosion-affected Battappady in Ullal, Hosabettu-Meenakaliya and listened to the woes of the residents. They promised to submit a detailed report to the government on the damages.
The joint secretary of the Home Ministry, who headed the team Ashish Kumar, Finance Ministry deputy director Mahesh Kumar, Union Energy Department assistant director Bhavya Pandey and others were present.
Ashish Kumar, the head of the Central Government’s rain damage assessment team, said that all farm growths, fishing boats and other equipment should be brought under relevant insurance schemes.
Speaking at the meeting in Udupi, Ashish Kumar told Udupi DC M Kurma Rao that more awareness about Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana should be created among farmers to insure their crops.
‘’Under the scheme, the government pays 98% of the premium while farmers will pay 2%. Similarly, fishermen should insure their boats and fishing equipment. With this, the individual losses could be mitigated to some extent,’’ he added.
Manoj Ranjan, commissioner for the State Disaster Management Authority, said that the district has a strong disaster management system in place. More than 300 volunteers have been trained as Apad Mitras, along with 180 volunteers from the Nehru Yuva Kendra, he said.
Deputy Commissioner Kurma Rao said that two people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents since March. As many as 65 houses have been completely destroyed and 424 have been partially damaged.
‘’A total of 1,239.73 hectares of farmland has been damaged. The public infrastructure worth Rs 264 crore have been damaged due to rain. This included 41.8 km of National Highways, 56.98-km of state highways, 194-km of urban roads, 1380-km of rural roads, 120 bridges, 1699 electricity poles, 335 transformers and so on,’’ he said.