As the rescue operations in Kodagu have come to an end, the government is piecing together the damages caused because of the rain that triggered floods and landslips last week. The preliminary estimates of the losses suffered both in public and private realms will be available on Saturday.
More than 125 km stretches of roads have vanished while thousands of acres of plantation have been affected, with coffee, cardamom and pepper bearing the brunt. Besides this, houses along with estates have vanished in several places and government buildings have also been affected. The coffee growers’ association has pegged the loss at over ₹2,000 crore on account of damages to capital assets in estates apart from the standing crop. “Assessment of losses has commenced as the rescue work has come to a close. We will have preliminary estimates available by Saturday. A detailed discussion will be held later,” Relief Commissioner and Principal Secretary Revenue Gangaram Baderiya told The Hindu. A meeting to hold discussion on the loss assessment would be chaired by the Development Commissioner on Saturday, he added.
A Cabinet sub-committee headed by Revenue Minister R.V. Deshpande would be meeting on August 31 when more accurate figures of losses would be available.