Assessment of Damage due to Recent Floods in Karnataka and Suggested Ameliorative Measures

New Delhi, 11 November 2009. The recent floods in Karnataka have not only damaged the standing crops but also deposited silt, debris, etc. on farmers’ fields. It caused extensive river/stream bank/gully erosion. Eventually, large areas have been left unfit for cultivation. On the behest of Union Agriculture Minister, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has constituted a Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Institutional Committee of Experts to make an assessment in respect of affected areas, nature and extent of damage and suggest ameliorative measures. The Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Institutional Committee of Experts includes scientists from Central Soil and Conservation Research Centre, Bellary; National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use Planning, Nagpur and ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna and others. The Committee has been called upon to visit the affected areas immediately and submit a report to this effect within 7 days. The experts will visit flood affected districts namely Bellary, Bijapur, Bagalakot, Raichur, Gulbarga, etc.