Karnataka decides to relocate 33 villages in the State

Even as the water level in the rivers of Krishna and Bhima flowing through flood-hit northern Karnataka receded yesterday, the H D Kumaraswamy Government set in motion the process for permanently relocating 33 flood-prone villages in Belgaum and Bagalkot districts of the State.

At the end of two-day aerial survey of the flooded areas of north Karnataka, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said he would convene high-level meeting in Bangalore on August 13 to finalise a plan for permanently shifting these villages, which submerge every time floods are reported in the area.

Out of the 33 villages identified as acutely flood-prone, a total of 28 villages are located in Belgaum and the remaining five in Bagalkot, he said. Though the State Government had submitted a Rs 2.88 billion proposal to the Federal Government for shifting these villages, there is no response so far.

“We will not wait till the Centre (Federal Government) responds. It is our responsibility to come to the rescue of people reeling under floods for the last two years. We will start the work on relocation of villages within the next two months”, Kumaraswamy declared.

Meanwhile, the water level in rivers of Krishna and Bhima, which were flowing in spate after discharge of excess water from reservoirs of Maharashtra, receded on Sunday, bringing some respite in the flood-hit north Karnataka.

During the week-long floods, a total of 159 villages in Belgaum, Bagalkot, Gulbarga, Raichur and Bijapur in Karnataka were flooded with water from the two rivers and its tributaries, displacing 364,000 people. Two persons had been washed away in the floods and standing crops on 71,266 hectares of land has been ruined, Kumaraswamy said.

The Government had opened 47 relief centers had been opened to rehabilitate thousands of evacuees, who given food and shelter.

Kumaraswamy said he was planning to lead an all-party delegation to New Delhi on August 8 to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Federal Ministers concerned to brief them about the flood havoc in Karnataka.