Nitish to officials: Ensure timely relief to flood-hit people, farmers

PATNA: CM Nitish Kumar on Wednesday asked the disaster management department (DMD) and DMs of eight flood-hit districts to ensure timely relief and related assistance to the affected population and the farmers who have suffered crop damages.
“Several areas are inundated. Floodwaters are still there, including in the plots of arable land. Farmers have also suffered damages,” Nitish said after the high-level review meeting following an aerial survey of Darbhanga, Samastipur and Madhubani districts on Wednesday.
The CM, along with water resources department (WRD) minister Sanjay Kumar Jha and its secretary Sanjeev Hans, had made aerial survey of the flood-affected West Champaran, East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Sheohar and Muzafarpur districts on Tuesday.
At the meeting, Hans presented the details of the flooded areas. DMD principal secretary Pratyaya Amrit presented the steps taken for the distribution of relief materials and also for providing other kinds of assistance to the flood victims. The DMs of the eight districts also participated through videoconferencing.
The CM said back in 2007, around 2.5 crore people were affected by floods and they were provided with both security and relief assistance. Similarly, the flood-hit people could also be provided assistance, he added.
He also asked the DMs to make spot inspection or the aerial survey of the flooded areas, besides making proper assessment of the damages suffered by the farmers so that they could be given the required assistance.
Meanwhile, the water level in Bagmati, Burhi Gandak, Kamla and Adhwara group of rivers was stationary or falling, but it was still around the danger mark.
Among the major rivers, the water discharge through Birpur barrage across the Kosi was stationary at 1.4 lakh cusecs, and that through Valmiki Nagar barrage across the Gandak was at the 1.51 lakh cusecs mark.
Further, the Ganga was flowing far below the danger level all along its downstream from Buxar to Kahalgaon via Digha, Gandhi Ghat, Hathidah, Munger and Bhagalpur. Similarly, Mahanada river was also flowing below the danger level.