Bengaluru: Even as several parts of South India is reeling under rain and flood situation, the Congress in Karnataka wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding him to declare the unprecedented flood condition in the State as national calamity. He further asked the Centre to immediately release Rs 5,000 crore for relief work.
According to a media report, nearly 44,000 people have so far been evacuated from rain-hit areas.
Speaking to reporters, Karnataka Congress Chief Dinesh Gundu Rao said, “We have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the situation in Karnataka is grave. We want the prime minister to declare it as a national calamity. We want Centre to release Rs 5,000 crore.”
The Congress leaders said that at least one lakh hectares of land were inundated and about 15 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in the State. He further slammed the chief minister B S Yediyurappa, by saying that the latter focused only on toppling the government and on cabinet formation and not on flood situation in the State.
“As an opposition leader, Yediyurappa’s sole aim had been to topple our government instead of doing his duty. Now that he is the chief minister, his only objective is to save his government,” he alleged.
Rao further said all party leaders, office-bearers and workers in Karnataka have been asked to donate generously to the Congress relief fund. The party has also assigned their leaders to oversee the relief work and provide assistance to the flood affected people.