Madikeri (Karnataka): With rain subsiding, relief and rehabilitation work gained momentum on Tuesday in the flood-ravaged Kodagu district ofKarnataka, bordering Kerala.
With operations to rescue those stranded by and large completed, officials said the district administration was now focusing on providing relief and rehabilitation to those at relief camps, clearing blocked roads and restoring power.
The torrential rain that lashed the district last week left a huge trail of destruction, claiming at least 12 lives and rendering thousands homeless.
With all major roads in Kodagu blocked, a massive rescue operation had been underway for the last couple of days to rescue those stranded in isolated and hilly terrain.
As of Monday, over 4,320 people were rescued and brought to relief centres.
District in-charge minister Sa Ra Mahesh said, "Till now efforts were on to rescue stranded people safely. Now the work will have to begin on rebuilding their lives."
He also requested people to generously contribute to the chief minister's relief fund so that it can be used to rebuild lives of people who are rendered homeless.
Authorities also decided to use drones to find if anyone was still stranded or missing, and also to assess the damage.
Officials said 41 relief centres in Kodagu and nine in Dakshina Kannada, another flood-hit district, have been set up where 6,620 people are sheltered.
The administration also decided to boost the morale of those who lost all belongings in the natural calamity by enlisting the help of mental health specialists to conduct counselling and talk sessions at relief camps.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy said the rain has subsided in Kodagu and he has asked the district in-charge minister and district deputy commissioner to look into certain lapses in relief camps.
He said the administration has been asked to provide protection to houses abandoned by people by deploying home guards, after reports emerged about alleged incidents of theft.
A large amount of relief material from various parts of the state is coming to Kodagu.
With most materials being food items, the administration urged people to also send day-to-day items like plastic buckets, raincoats,sanitary napkins, plastic mats, soaps, shampoo, toothpaste,bedsheets and blankets and inner garments, among other things.
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