Be ready to face monsoon, Deshpande tells officials

Dharwad: Revenue and district in-charge minister R V Deshpande directed zilla panchayat and HDMC to be prepared to face issues due to monsoon, which is likely to enter north interior Karnataka in the second week of June.
Chairing a meeting at the deputy commissioner's office here on Monday, he received petitions from the public and said drains in rural areas and urban pockets should be cleaned to ensure free flow of water in case of heavy rain. There should not be any complaints from the public or reports in the media on rainwater gushing into houses or getting accumulated on roads, he said.
Gutter cleaning should be taken up on a war-footing and cleanliness drives should be held in 144 gram panchayats of the district, the minister said.
To a grievance about old buildings in Hubballi posing a threat, Deshpande directed HDMC commissioner Prashanthkumar Mishra to form a technical team and inspect four old buildings belonging to HDMC in Hubballi and check their stability. “If the buildings are weak and are posing a threat to the occupants, the executive engineer must give a report on demolishing the building. In the case the building being weak, steps should be taken to get such buildings vacated immediately,” he said.
This issue will be taken up at the government level and directions will be given based on the technical report, he added.
Relief for victims
Kundgol MLA Kusumavati Shivalli said that a woman and two of her grandchildren had died in a roof collapse incident that took place two days before the by-polls. As the model code of conduct was in force, the government had not announced any compensation, she added.
Deshpande then said that the government had announced a compensation of Rs five lakh each and the cheques would be given to the kin of the victims within a few days. The government has increased the compensation amount given to the kin of those who die in natural calamities, he added.
A sum of Rs 5 lakh will be given to the family of those killed due to lightning, heat wave or heavy rains. Rs 4 lakh will be given under the national disaster relief fund and state disaster relief fund and Rs1 lakh from the chief minister's relief fund.
Those who lost land at Jagadish Nagar for the airport complained that HDMC was not handing over houses constructed for them. Deshpande then lashed out at HDMC officials for neglecting the basic demand of the land losers.
Nearly 182 houses have been built here but they have been kept locked. No basic facilities like power and water connections are given to these houses, the aggrieved persons complained. “The houses should be distributed to the land loses within 15 days and Hescom should provide electricity in the next five days. The house owners need not wait for drainage work to be taken up as it is a long process. They can occupy the house this month,” he added.