The sun is finally out in Ramanagara after three days and around 50 residents, mostly women, took to the streets to demand a just compensation process for their losses in the recent flooding of Arkavathi river. The residents of Tippu Nagar and the Zia Ulla block in Ramanagara city are upset that no government official has visited them after the floods or offered any relief. While Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Ramanagara MLA Anitha, and her husband and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy all visited the flood affected areas of Ramanagara district on August 29, the protesters say they only assessed the situation in the exterior parts of the city and did not come to the interior regions which suffered the most damage.
Manjamma, who was one of the protesters, said, “The ministers all come begging to us when it’s time for elections. However none of them show up when we need them.” Manjamma along with others also said that they feared they would not receive any compensation from the government. Along with their homes and belongings, the flood water has also taken with it their documents such as their Aadhaar cards, she said. The documents are required in order to claim compensation for the damages that they have suffered.
Further, the protesters are afraid that the compensation they receive will be far less than the actual damage caused by the floods. “We have lost our homes and belongings worth at least two to three lakhs but the compensation that we will likely receive will only be a few thousand. How are we supposed to manage with a few thousand rupees?” asked Sarana, another protester.
When TNM arrived at the protest site, government officials had already begun the work of removing sludge and debris just a few metres away. “We are aware that many have lost their documents due to the floods but they do not have anything to worry about. The Ramanagara Municipal Corporation will issue documents to those who have lost them,” said Vijay Kumar, a senior health inspector at the municipal corporation.
After heavy rains lashed several parts of Karnataka, the swelling up of rivers caused flooding in surrounding areas. One such river, the Arkavathi, flows through the Ramanagara city and many residents lost all of their personal belongings including household items, books, and documents in the flood. Tippu Nagar and the Zia Ullah block in Ramanagara are among the worst affected localities as several houses have collapsed and many more have been partially damaged.