Nine districts in Bihar hit by flood, 4 lakh people affected

Nine districts of Bihar have been hit by flood which has claimed two lives so far and affected around four lakh people. Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, accompanied by Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh and Disaster Management Department (DMD) Principal Secretary Vyasji, conducted an aerial survey of the inundated areas and ordered all out efforts to provide relief to the people.

"Express relief measures should be taken. There is no dearth of funds for the purpose and money will be immediately allocated for it when officials bring it to our notice," said Manjhi after taking a first hand account of the affected areas.

Darbhanga, Nalanda, West Champaran, Supaul, Saharasa, Nawada, Sheikhpura, Sitamarhi and Patna district have been affected by flood, a senior DMD official said, adding two persons died in flood in Saharsa district on Sunday. Around 38,000 people have been evacuated so far and 75 relief camps have been set up in the affected districts.

The DMD Principal Secretary told PTI, "Floodwater has entered Daniyawan and Belchhi blocks in Patna district. It is has come from the adjoining Nalanda district where Panchane and Sakri rivers have brought flood."

Vyasji said several blocks in Nalanda district are affected and two NDRF teams have been pressed into rescue and relief operations. In Nawada district several low lying areas have been inundated due to very heavy rainfall, he said.

Talking about Darbhanga and West Champaran, where floods have come due to breaches in the embankments of Kamla Balan and Gandak rivers, the DMD Principal Secretary said the repair work is on.

"A major obstacle in the evacuation process is that the affected people do not want to leave their homes. So we have decided to go for relief work in the affected areas and have started providing food grains to them," added Vyasji.