Karnataka floods: Samaritans offer cash and kindness as waters recede

Selfless officials who didn’t think twice before standing with the flood affected people, donors big and small who contributed their might in cash and kind, volunteers who rolled out chapatis by the dozen in minutes or packed relief kits, doctors who set out to treat the needy, armed forces which carried many to safety and gave many a dog snuggling room on the boat — the relief-and-rescue operations and rehabilitation efforts are throwing up Samaritans and brave hearts of many shades in the face of adversity.
In Belthangady, the worst-hit taluk in Dakshina Kannada, a 75-year-old farmer donated Rs 1 lakh to the CM’s relief fund. Honnappa Gowda of Nidle village said having lost his parents early, he “can understand the pain of hose who lost homes”.
The focus has shifted to rescue and rehabilitation efforts in the north, coastal and Malnad regions as the floodwaters receded further following a letup in rain and discharge from dams. The toll stands at 56, with 16 people still missing. A total of 100 taluks in 21 districts have been affected and 1,151 relief camps have been set up. Official figures said 55,325 houses have been damaged while the crop loss stands at 4.5 lakh hectares as of now.
In Vijayapura, deputy commissioner YS Patil was busy with relief operations, missing the funeral of his 91-year-old grandfather who passed away on August 9 in a village in Bailhongal. The Bhima and Krishna rivers were in spate and Patil chose to stay back to monitor the situation in his district.
Cloudseeding project in doubt?
With all reservoirs full but 13 districts facing drought-like conditions, the state government is wondering if it should go ahead with its Rs 90-crore cloudseeding project, reports Sandeep Moudgal. The contract given to Kyathi Climate Modification Consultants for 2019-20 has a clause to cancel the second leg of the project but the first — at Rs 43 crore — has already been launched.
After 10 yrs, 9 of 13 reservoirs filling up
After a gap of 10 years, nine of Karnataka’s 13 major reservoirs are almost full due to heavy rains over the past two weeks, reports Rohith BR. The reservoirs — Ghataprabha, Harangi, Hemavathi, Kabini, KRS, Malaprabha, Bhadra, Tungabhadra and Narayanapura — are close to their full capacity, said an official of the Water Resources Development Organisation.