Ministers, MP inspect flood damage in Bidar district

Amid continuing rainfall that have devastated large parts of Bidar district, Minister for Municipal Administration and Haj Rahim Khan and Lok Sabha MP Sagar Khandre visited flood-affected areas on Sunday inspecting damage to crops, houses and infrastructure and directing officials to ensure prompt relief.

During his visit to villages in Bidar taluk, Minister Rahim Khan said that the Chief Minister has already released ₹50 crore for immediate flood relief and a request had been made for an additional ₹100 crore.

He announced that ₹5 crore will be released for the repair of a damaged bridge at Aliyambar village and instructed Public Works officials to prioritise the restoration of roads and bridges.

Noting that continuous rainfall over the past three weeks has destroyed crops such as green gram, black gram, soybean and pigeon pea, in addition to causing damage many houses, the Minister said that a joint departmental survey has already been ordered to assess the losses and compensation will be provided under SDRF and NDRF norms.

Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Shakeel, Bidar Tahsildar Ravindra Dhama and Agriculture Department Deputy Director Iqbal Ansari accompanied him.

In another initiative, Bidar MP Sagar Khandre visited several villages in Bhalki taluk to meet local residents and inspect the extent of crop and property damage.

He noted that waterlogging has affected thousands of acres of standing crops and hundreds of houses and that several bridges and roads have collapsed, disrupting power and water supply.

He instructed agriculture officials to conduct urgent surveys and ensure that the affected farmers receive insurance compensation, while directing local authorities to provide immediate relief to damaged households and to restore essential services.

District and taluk-level officials, representatives and villagers were present during his visit.

The day before, Forest Minister and district in-charge Eshwar Khandre, who spent a couple of days visiting flood-hit areas in the district, met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru seeking the release of a special ₹100-crore package to address the widespread losses caused by rainfall in August.

He highlighted that thousands of acres of soybean, pigeon pea, green gram, black gram and other crops have been destroyed. He said that hundreds of houses have been damaged, while floodwaters washed away foodgrains in low-lying homes.

He also reported that bridges and roads were damaged, cutting off connectivity and power supply and sought immediate assistance to support farmers, daily wage workers and other affected residents of the already backward district.

“Bidar, already a backward district, has been pushed into further distress by the floods. Farmers, the poor and daily wage workers are struggling to survive in the face of this disaster,” he said and urged the government to extend immediate support.