Hubballi: Making it clear that the Centre was concerned about the flood situation in the state, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had spoken to him over phone Thursday midnight and collected information about the floods.
Addressing the media in Bagalkote on Friday, the CM said even his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis had spoken with him and promised to co-ordinate with him till the situation improves. “I have discussed about the regulation of water release and storage in dams with the CM of the neighbouring state. He assured me all cooperation in future, we will sort out all issues related to water management,” Yediyurappa asserted. Stating that the Union government has promised to sanction funds at the earliest to tackle the flood situation, he said adequate army men and helicopters have been deployed to rescue the people caught in floods. At present, the loss is estimated at around Rs 5,000 crore but a proper estimate will be made once the floods stop, he added. Mr Yediyurappa appealed to people to extend their help by contributing money to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. “We received more than Rs 20 crore for the relief fund in less than 24 hours. Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murthy has already given Rs 10 crore and the Nirani Group of Institutions promised to contribute Rs 1 crore. I urge businessmen and industrialists to join hands with me to help the flood affected people,”Yediyurappa said. The state government has already released Rs 100 crore to the flood-affected districts and an additional Rs 10 crore has been given to administration of Bagalkote as it is one of the severely affected districts.
