Mysore/Mysuru: Deputy Commissioner Dr. K.V. Rajendra has said: “Adequate measures have been taken to swiftly act in the case of damages caused due to heavy rainfall in the district.”

Speaking to media persons in the city on Friday, Dr. Rajendra said: “There was 30 percent deficiency in rainfall in the month of April in the district, but a good spell of rainfall has been received in the month of May, with wind speed recorded at 30 km to 40 km, causing damages in some parts of the district. Over 250 hectares of horticultural crops including Banana have been damaged along with vegetables. A joint survey involving Horticulture and Revenue Departments will be conducted to assess the extent of losses suffered by farmers. The relief will be given as per National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) norms.” The Government has already opened ‘Parihara Portal’ to upload information related to crop damages, where the extent of damage will be mentioned, he added.

A total of 234 houses have been partly damaged due to rain accompanied by wind in the district in the last one week. A team of Panchayat Development Officer (PDO), Village Accountant (VA) and one Engineer has been constituted to collect information related to damages to houses in rural areas. Action has been taken to provide relief towards damages to houses, within 48 hours of the incident, said the DC.

A meeting of District Disaster Management Committee has been conducted with the directions issued to clean the drainages. The precautionary measures have been taken with the focus on rain-affected areas in the year 2019-20, to prevent the recurrence of the incident. The focus is more on low-lying areas and the directions have been given to open Gruel Centres for the safety of those affected in case of flood water entering the houses.

 A meeting has also been held with CESC officials and  directions have been issued to repair damaged electric poles, cables and transformers. Besides, it has been told to take all the safety measures while constructing new buildings. The notice board should be installed at the construction site to prevent any mishap, added the DC.

The rain claimed three lives in the district last week, with two among them struck by lightning and one woman lost her life as the roof came crashing down. Eight livestock have also died in the rain and the directions have been issued to pay compensation to the owners.

During the previous year, a report on 1,200 houses damaged in the district had been sent to the Government. However, some among them had intentionally pulled down the houses and some others had included their name for the want of relief under pressure. Hence a report containing the genuine cases of house damages was prepared and sent to the Government, clarified DC Dr. Rajendra.