Bihar floods: RJD criticises Nitish Kumar government’s handling of the situation
Four people have died and around 18 lakh have been left stranded in nine districts of the state.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal on Monday lashed out at the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) government for failing to handle the flood situation in Bihar even as Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav argued that the government was taking measures to reach out to those stranded, PTI reported.
According to the state’s Disaster Management Department, four people have been killed and around 18 lakh people in nine districts have been left stranded by the floods. Two deaths were reported from Araria while one each was reported from Sheohar and Kishanganj districts. Five rivers are flowing above the danger level because of heavy rains in the catchment areas bordering Nepal. The floods were caused by torrential downpour in various parts of Nepal, and the additional water discharged as a result from the Birpur barrage.
The proceedings in the state Assembly were disrupted as Opposition leaders demanded a special discussion during question hour. Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders claimed that the state government was inept at tackling the situation, and during Zero Hour questioned them on the measures taken to deal with the crisis.
“The flood victims are fighting for survival,” IANS quoted Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Bhai Virendra as saying. “Relief and rescue operations are very slow. People are facing food and drinking water shortages, there is shortage of fodder for the cattle.”
Bijendra Prasad Yadav said the chief minister held a high-level meeting on the matter and conducted a aerial survey of the affected areas on Sunday. He added that Nitish Kumar had also conducted an aerial survey of Purnea division and would share the details upon his return to Patna.
Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Abdul Bari Siddiqui requested Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary to adjourn the House for two days so that members whose constituencies had been affected by floods could visit them.
An adjournment motion moved by Siddiqui’s colleague Lalit Kumar Yadav and others for a debate on the matter was rejected by the speaker as it reportedly did not conform to the rules of the House. He asked the legislators to raise the matter at an appropriate time. However, the Opposition members refused to budge and rushed to the Well of the House to raise anti-government slogans, forcing the speaker to adjourn the Assembly till lunch.
According to the government, 17,96,535 people have been affected by flood in 55 blocks of nine districts – Sheohar, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, Madhubani, Araria, Kishanganj, Supaul, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur. Sitamarhi is the worst-hit district, followed by Araria.
Thirteen teams of National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Fund have been deployed to carry out rescue and relief operations. The authorities have also opened 152 relief camps, housing 45,053 people, and 251 community kitchens in the flood-hit areas.
Here are some photos from the flood-hit state:
