Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday told the Centre that the state had suffered a loss of Rs 8,071 crore due to floods and asked for immediate relief to tide over the damage, PTI reported.

A six-member inter-ministerial central team, led by Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary KV Pratap, met Yediyurappa and Karnataka Cabinet ministers on Monday to discuss the damage caused by floods.

The Karnataka chief minister told the central team that the state government has allocated Rs 460 crore from the State Disaster Relief Fund to manage both the coronavirus crisis and the flood situation. He urged the Centre to immediately provide aid to the state.

Yediyurappa also requested the Centre to revise the guidelines on providing relief to the states from the National Disaster Relief Fund to facilitate emergency aid.

The Karnataka chief minister also said that he will personally travel to Delhi to seek the Centre’s help. “Looking at the report they [the central team] submit to the union government, I will go to Delhi and try to get more relief,” he said.

Yediyurappa told the central team that the floods had also caused extensive damage to roads, bridges, officials buildings and schools in the state. The Karnataka chief minister also said that the floods damaged over 4 lakh hectares of cultivated land.

Yediyurappa said his government’s spending capacity had been strained because of the coronavirus crisis. “Last year, Rs 1,500 crore was spent for this [flood relief] and this year, despite Covid difficulties, the government will spend Rs 200 crore,” he said. The chief minister told the team that the state government was also helping people rebuild damaged houses. He said that his government had been giving Rs 5 lakh to the people whose houses had been completely damaged, Rs 3 lakh for severe damage and Rs 50,000 for partial harm.

At least 20 people have died due to floods in Karnataka since August 1. Nearly 10,000 homes have been destroyed and 14,182 kilometres of roads damaged.

The Meteorological Centre in Bengaluru said on Tuesday that several areas in the state were likely to receive more rain over the next few days.

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