India, Oct. 4 -- Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday urged the Centre to provide Rs 7,142.64 crore as drought relief to the state, as farmers and the general public were facing severe hardship.

Earlier, the government sought Rs 3,705.30 crore as drought relief from the Centre under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) norms.

The revised demand of Rs 7,142.64 crore follows the declaration of 177 taluks as drought-affected, with losses estimated at Rs 46,324.50 crore, the CMO said in a statement. "If farmers suffer, everything comes to a standstill. Therefore, the central government should come to the aid of the state's farmers," Shivakumar said, while holding discussions with a Central Inter-Ministerial team led by Ajit...