DK rain and floods: District may account for loss of over Rs 300 crore

Team Udayavani, Aug 14, 2019, 1:38 PM IST

Mangaluru: The loss inflicted by heavy rain and floods experienced during the last some days in Dakshina Kannada district alone may have exceeded Rs 300 crore and the amount is notably higher in comparison to previous years. Meanwhile, the quantum of loss will only rise higher once the loss assessment of Belthangady and Bantwal taluk is completed.

Different departments are submitting reports to the district administration regarding the actual loss. The current estimate states that the loss inflicted in Dakshina Kannada district is around Rs 275 crore, but the estimate does not include agricultural destruction. the final estimate is yet to be created but the loss was Rs 238 crore lost year.

The current indications depict Mangaluru taluk to have suffered loss of Rs 96 crore which is markedly higher as compared to the last year, while Bantwal has accounted for Rs 31.68 crore in loss. The loss inflicted on Belthangady, Puttur and Sullia taluk is around Rs 74.47 crore, Rs 44.67 crore and Rs 27.79 crore respectively.

Roads damaged

Many roads have been damaged with some portions of the road being washed away and the loss on this account is over Rs 142 crore including Rs 52 crore in Belthangady alone. Of the total loss of Rs 65 crore inflicted on rural roads, Mangaluru taluk’s share is Rs 19 crore. Of the Rs 15 crore loss suffered by NHAI, Puttur taluk accounts for Rs 7 crore. Mescom too has suffered loss of Rs 10 crore while local bodies have suffered loss of Rs 45 crore of which Rs 40 crore is Mangalore’s share alone. More than 325 pucca houses and 220 kutcha houses have sustained damages in the district.

Belthangady more damage, Mangaluru more loss

Belthangady has faced large scale destruction and devastation, but Mangaluru taluk has suffered the highest loss and this loss is shared between Mangaluru taluk panchayat, City Corporation, Ullal city municipality, Mulki municipality, Kotekar town panchayat and other bodies. The explanation for the more loss being accounted for in the city is due to the fact that the number of local bodies here is more. The estimated loss incurred by Belthangady is Rs 74.47 crore while Mangaluru taluk has lost Rs 96.02 crore in losses.

More agriculture loss

This time, the destruction of paddy, areca nut, coconut, banana, and black pepper crops has been highest this time. According to the department of agriculture, about 793 hectares of paddy crop has been destroyed while about 4,200 hectares of areca, coconut and banana cultivation have been destroyed amounting to a total loss of Rs 19 crore.

Informing about the measures being taken to take stock of the losses incurred due to the natural disaster, MP Nalin Kumar said that within a few days, a team of senior officers from the union government will be visiting different taluks of the district including Belthangady and Charmadi to prepare an exhaustive report about losses.