Sunday, November 6 2005 09:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Karnataka yesterday (Nov 05, 2005) sought Central assistance of Rs 1167 crore towards relief measures for the people affected by the century's most serious floods in Bangalore and other parts of the state.

"Like Mumbai, the hi-tech city of Bangalore received the highest recorded rainfall in over 100 years. It had thrown out of gear the whole urban life in Bangalore", a high-level delegation from the state led by Chief Minister N Dharam Singh told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Chief Minister requested the Prime Minister to generously help the state under the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF), Singh later told reporters here.

Of the 136 tanks in and around Bangalore city, more than half of them have breached inundating nearly 60 per cent of residential areas and commercial hub, he said adding that the state government has sought an immediate assistance of Rs 500 crore from the Centre.

Singh, who was accompanied by Union Ministers Oscar Fernandes, M V Rajasekharan and K H Muniyappa among others, said the Centre was also requested to take early decision on the state government's earlier request for Rs 3,700 crore assistance.

The Chief Minister said the delegation sought declaration of Kannada language as a classical language.