Monsoon fury adds to Karnataka’s Covid woes; govt may find it hard to fund large-scale relief

Bengaluru: Monsoon is wreaking havoc in parts of Karnataka just when the state is struggling to contain the damage arising from the Covid-19 outbreak, putting enormous pressure on the BJP regime.
Chief minister BS Yediyurappa reviewed the monsoon situation on Friday from a hospital where he is undergoing treatment for Covid-19, and had a chat with chief secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar. He empowered the chief secretary to execute emergency relief measures in rain-affected areas without waiting for his approvals.

Yediyurappa himself has not been able to do much as he is in hospital, and can only give directions on the phone or through videoconferencing. Last year, around this time, the CM single-handedly led the flood-control efforts, personally surveying the affected areas. There was no minister to assist him back then as he was a one-man cabinet.

With the pandemic throwing tens of thousands of people out of jobs and leaving many small-scale industries in disarray, there has been a spate of demands from people seeking financial relief. The state now has to also deal with the monsoon fury, creating a double-whammy situation for the government.

“The government finances are precarious,” a minister said, not wanting to be named, hinting at the limited ability of the government to fund large-scale relief measures. The chief minister has released 50 crore so far. At another level, the relief operations have left revenue officials overstretched as they have also been involved with Covid-19 control efforts for three months now.

Meanwhile, Janata Dal (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy has stepped up pressure on the government, urging ministers to camp in flood-hit areas, supervise relief work and give confidence to people. “For the government it is trial by fire — on one side it has to contain the spread of Covid-19 while on the other it has to manage floods. If they are not cautious enough, then it will be risking the lives of people,” the former CM tweeted.

Opposition leader Siddaramaiah of the Congress too has not been able to visit any affected areas as has also tested positive for Covid.