Rescue operations stepped up in Karnataka’s Kodagu, Modi assures state of all help

More than 3,500 people have been rescued in Karnataka’s rain-hit Kodagu district where six people were killed even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday assured chief minister HD Kumarswamy of all help to tackle the flood situation in various parts of the state.

The district administration was managing the rescue and relief work, along with the army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other agencies, and have rescued more than 3,500 people so far, Kumaraswamy told President Ram Nath Kovind, who also called up to inquire about the situation in the state, according to a statement from the chief minister’s office.

Operations are on to rescue those stranded at various places, it added.

As many as 317 people were rescued and shifted to safer places in the district on Saturday and rescue operations were on around Makkandor and other areas of the district on Sunday, said officials, adding that the rescued included a two-month-old infant.

Modi, in a tweet, said he spoke to Kumaraswamy regarding the flood situation in parts of the state. “Extended all possible support in the rescue and relief operations. I pray for the safety and well-being of those in the flood affected areas,” he tweeted.

Kumaraswamy, who had conducted an aerial survey in Kodagu on Saturday, undertook another one to assess the situation in other affected areas including Suntikoppa, Madapura, Siddapura, and between Piriyapatna and Madikeri.

Incessant rain in the past few days has affected several districts of coastal and Malnad regions like Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkmagaluru, Kodagu, parts of Hassan and Uttara Kannada.

First Published: Aug 19, 2018 17:30 IST