In keeping with the spirit of reaching out to people affected by the flood calamity, the Archbishop of Bangalore Dr Peter Machado has convened a meeting of church, religious-based organisations, NGOs and also philanthropists to discuss ways to respond to the alarming flood situation in the country, with special reference to Karnataka.
This meeting will take place at Bangalore Archdiocese’s Palana Bhavan on Wednesday 14th Aug at 3.00 pm. The Preleate has urged all to come forward to help people affected by the floods.
According to news reports, while rains have eased out and water levels receded in some parts of flood-hit areas of Karnataka and Kerala, the situation is improving and search operations are on for those who have gone missing and efforts are being made to reach out to those who need to be evacuated.
In Karnataka, rescue operations are on in full swing in flood ravaged districts of the state, with a let up in the rains and water receding in most of the affected areas, officials said in Bengaluru on Monday. According to the last updated toll 42 people have lost their lives and more than four lakh have been displaced.
However, due to heavy inflow into various reservoirs and release of water from there, caution is being maintained in areas surrounding dams, officials said, adding that work is also on to clear roads that were flooded or blocked due to landslides.
Eighty taluks of 17 districts in Karnataka have been affected due to floods and rains. A total of 5,81,702 people have been evacuated till last evening and 1168 relief camps have been opened where 3,27,354 people are taking shelter. Over 50,000 animals have also been rescued.
According to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, Belagavi district is most likely to witness scattered to fairly widespread for the next five days. The Belagavi district continues to remain the worst affected in the state due to floods. Taking note of the grim situation, Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa on Sunday claimed the preliminary estimate of flood-related loss in the state was Rs 10,000 crore.