As majority of the flood-hit people in Karnataka’s Kodagu district are headed back to their homes to see the damage, rescue personnel recovered three bodies on Wednesday by evening.
“Rescue operations will continue tomorrow and will continue until all missing persons are accounted for. Combing operations are going on,” Kodagu SP told TNM.
Army personnel are waiting for SOS calls to provide further assistance and rescue officials are on standby.
As of Tuesday evening, the death toll announced by Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy stood at 12.
Residents of the affected villages ventured out to go back and check the damage. They were concerned about reported theft and wanted to see the condition of their village despite several areas being inaccessible from the main roads. Many localities resembled ghost villages with no one in sight, as the effects of landslide were clearly visible.
Maleyanda Ponappa, a plantation owner in Mukkodlu visited his estate earlier in the day and found that six acres of his 22 acres was damaged.
“Coffee and pepper beans had fallen off before they were ripe and areas in the estate close to the Hattihole River had been washed off,” he said.
Meanwhile, State Relief Commissioner Gangaram Baderiya said relief works, including food supply to about 7,000 people in 51 camps, repair of roads and highways and restoration of phone and power lines in Kodagu district were intensified, while schools would reopen on Thursday.
“Relief materials are transported in 100 vehicles to all the local bodies from five makeshift storehouses set up across the district. With rains subsiding and life returning to normal, all schools and colleges will reopen on Thursday," he said.
About 60 schools in the worst affected towns and villages will remain shut till Saturday for repairs and restoration works.
"Besides food, gas geysers and cooking gas cylinders have been sent to the relief camps for supplying hot water to the flood victims," said Baderiya.
The state food and civil supplies department has been directed to distribute about 50,000 food kits to the victims to enable them to cook on returning to their homes.
"About 5,000 text and note books will be distributed to the school students as their books were damaged in the heavy rains and floods. Primary classes will be conducted in the relief camps for the children," noted Baderiya.
The state Public Works Department and the National Highway Authority of India have been directed to expedite repair of roads and highways to restore transport of goods and people across the district.
"Sandbags will be used to build protection walls for avoiding landslides and blocking of roads and highways," said the IAS officer.
"The district authority is also identifying lands for rehabilitating the flood victims who have lost their dwelling in the worst-affected areas," added Baderiya.
The revenue department will issue fresh property documents of houses and farmlands to those who lost the originals in heavy rains and floods.
The heavy rains, which lashed central Karnataka, began on August 12 after an already copious monsoon since June and paralysed the tourist district.
Villages have been swept off, roads have been damaged and landslides have destroyed people’s homes. The death toll could mount further with multiple instances of rescue personnel discovering dead bodies under the debris.
With IANS inputs