Hubballi: Students in flood-hit villages here are celebrating Independence Day at the rehabilitation centres opened in community halls, temples and the Ambedkar Bhavan.
But those who have been taking shelter at government schools are afraid they will have to find alternative accommodation after August 16 when they reopen. With the district administrations of Belagavi, Bagalkot and Gadad having established most relief camps in government schools, many villagers are demanding immediate compensation to repair their houses damaged in the downpour to help them move back.
“We have been staying in the relief camp at the government girls’ high school for the last eight days, where we are supplied food and other basic amenities.
Although reopening of the schools will help our children, we are worried as we have nowhere to go,” said one flood victim, Shantavva Soolagitti of Mallammana Belawadi village in Bailhongal taluk.
But when contacted, district officials allayed the villagers’ fears, saying that while the schools will run as usual, a few teaching halls will be used to accommodate the flood victims until alternative arrangments are made for them. “We cannot force the flood victims to leave the schools as their houses are damaged. We will find a solution to this problem soon,” said Chikkodi DDPI, A C Gangadhar.
Going by the officials, most of the flood victims have vacated the schools located on the banks of Ghataprabha and Malaprabha rivers. But many continue to find shelter in schools on the banks of the river Krishna in Chikkodi, Athani and Kagwad taluks, where the floods were more severe, they explain.
