Wednesday, August 3 2005 21:02 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Floods triggered by torrential rains have claimed 87 lives and caused Rs 501 crore loss to public and private properties in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh said today (August 3, 2005).

The Government has released Rs 22 crore for flood relief operations, besides pressing two army helicopters for rescue operations in the flood-ravaged districts of Belgaum, Bijapur and Bagalkot, he told reporters here.

The state has submitted a memorandum to the Centre seeking Rs 109 crore immediate assistance for flood relief operations and would be submitting a detailed memorandum on August six to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pleading for more aid, he said.

Crops in an estimated 64,000 hectares have been affected by floods, he said adding that the situation was grim in Belgaum where 81 villages have been marooned.

Meanwhile, Revenue Minister M P Prakash, responding to a debate in the state assembly on the flood situation, informed that preliminary reports suggested that the state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 501 crore.

Most of the rivers including Cauvery, Tungabhadra and Hemvathy were in spate, he said.

He said more than 14,000 houses have suffered damages in the floods.