Bengaluru: Nearly 43,000 people have so far been evacuated from flood-hit and rain-affected areas of Karnataka, where the rain fury has left nine people dead, authorities said on Thursday.
The worst-hit was Belagavi district, where six persons have lost their lives, while 40,180 people have been evacuated.
Two persons lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Uttara Kannada district, from where 3,088 people have been evacuated till date, and one in Shivamogga, according to official figures.
Nearly 17,000 people are taking shelter in relief camps.
Chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa is currently camping in Belagavi supervising relief and rescue operations.
On Thursday, he visited rain-affected Shivajinagar and Gandhinagar areas of Belagavi.
“Releases from reservoirs are well coordinated and as per protocol to prevent inundation of downstream areas. The villages likely to be affected due to heavy discharge have been identified and necessary precautions taken”, an official statement said.
A total of 43,858 people from affected districts in northern, coastal and Malnad regions have so far been evacuated by joint rescue teams comprising Fire and Emergency department, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force and Army, official sources said.
District administrations are on high alert and are prepared to tackle any emergency arising out of heavy discharge from reservoirs, the statement said.
“The flood situation is under control”, it said.
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While Belagavi, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Raichur and Yadgir had been battered by the floods, torrential rains threw life out of gear in Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Mangaluru, Kodagu, Hubballi-Dharwad, Karwar, Hassan and Shivamogga.
Belagavi, Bagalkote and Yadgir bore the brunt of the heavy downpour and water released from dams on Krishna River and its tributaries.
Government schools in Belagavi turned into rehabilitation centres where the flood-hit people shared their rooms with the livestock.
Chikkamagaluru district too was badly hit by the torrential rain. The swollen Bhadra river completely submerged the Hebbale bridge that connects Horanadu.
The opposition Congress and JDS have accused the government of “inaction” in dealing with the flood situation.
“Terrible floods in many parts of Karnataka. And CM is away politicking in Delhi”, former minister and Congress MLA, Krishna Byre Gowda, said.
“No minister even to attend to flood problems,” he said.
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Former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy questioned the ‘absence’ of chief minister B.S. Yedyiurappa from the state.
“There are floods in many parts of Karnataka. I need to ask, Ellidiyappa Yediyurappa (Where are you Yediyurappa)?” he said at a meeting of JDS.
The opposition party, headed by former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, tweeted: “12 days since new Govt, BJP still hasn’t given Karnataka a cabinet. Government is missing”.
Yediyurappa is the only minister in his council of ministers.
Yediyurappa, who was in Delhi to finalise the cabinet formation with BJP central leadership, cut short his visit, returned to Bengaluru and later left for Belgagavi to take stock of the flood situation.
Government sources rejected the charge of Congress and JDS.
They noted that Yediyurappa had earlier this week conducted an aerial survey of the affected regions in North Karnataka.
The chief minister has already instructed officials to take up relief and rescue measures on a war-footing, official sources said.