Belagavi: Locals invite Army personnel carrying out rescue work to celebrate Eid

Residents of the flood-affected Shiragur village of Raibag (rural) on Monday invited the Indian Army's Maratha Light Infantry unit to feast together on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.

The Army personnel were seen offering prayers along with the Muslim community in the village before joining in the celebrations.

The Maratha Light Infantry unit led by Major Rathore is conducting rescue and relief operations in the flood-affected Belagavi district.

Earlier today, former Prime Minister and JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlining the severity of the floods in Karnataka and sought an interim relief of Rs 5,000 crore to tide over the situation in the state.

In his letter, Deve Gowda urged Modi to declare the disaster caused by the floods as a national calamity.

Forty people have lost their lives while 14 are missing since August 1 due to the floods in the state, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) said.

As many as 5,81,702 people have been evacuated from the affected areas, according to it.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Army and teams of the local administration are carrying out relief and rescue work in the area.