Saharsa flood victims lootrelief materials from truck

Patna: Displaced by floods due to heavy rain in Nepal, flood-hit villagers in the Gandaul locality of Saharsa’s Mahishi block went on the rampage on Saturday after not receiving relief materials on time.
The angry people looted relief materials from a truck shortly after land reforms minister Dilip Jaiswal inspected relief camps in the area. A viral video of the loot shows villagers climbing onto the truck, forcibly grabbing bags of relief materials and throwing them among the crowd before fleeing.Eyewitnesses said the truck, which was carrying supplies sent by non-profit organizations and a political party, had no police protection.

“This is gross negligence. The relief items should have been distributed properly, but only a few people grabbed them and fled. Many returned empty-handed,” said a woman who claims to have lost everything in the floods and is now sheltering atop an embankment.
Local BJP neta Ritesh Ranjan attributed the chaos to mismanagement. “But we will continue rushing relief materials for the flood victims in the future,” Ranjan said, adding that from now on, everything would be handled correctly. “In fact, the situation is so bad that the people want to get relief at any cost,” he added.
Prior to this incident, flood victims had blocked the Saharsa-Darbhanga road on Thursday due to a lack of relief and plastic sheets. “We are aware of the trouble and are rushing relief to the flood victims. They are so angry that they attack every vehicle that passes through the area,” Mahishi BDO Sushil Kumar told TOI on Sunday.
Similar incidents were reported from the Kishanpur block-cum-anchal office in the neighbouring Supaul district, where a mob of flood victims — mostly women wielding lathis and brooms — held angry protests on Saturday, alleging they have not received any assistance and have been left to die. “Floods destroyed everything, but the govt has not given anything so far. We face the scorching sun above and floodwaters below,” alleged Mishri Lal, a flood victim.
However, the state govt claims to have credited Rs 7,000 to the bank accounts of 4.39 lakh families affected by the floods and has also started relief camps in several areas of the flood-hit region.