Indian Army Begins Air dropping Relief Material in Flood Hit Bihar
Dated 21/8/2008
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With swollen rivers continuing to cause devastation in 11 districts of Bihar, an army helicopter today began airdropping relief material in the worst-hit Supaul district of the Kosi region.
Nearly 700,000 people in Muzaffarpur, Supaul, Saharsa, Madhepura, Katihar, Araria, Khagaria, Sheikhpura, West Champaran, Patna and Nalanda are reeling under the impact of the floods, which have so far claimed 31 lives, state's Disaster Managemen department sources said.
The army chopper could airdrop only 640 food packets in Birpur subdivision of Supaul district, cut off from the rest of the state due to the sudden deluge caused by the breach in the East Kosi embankment in the Nepalese territory on August 18, as the operation was adversely affected by bad weather.
Meanwhile, Union minister of state for Water Resources Jaiprakash Narain Yadav, who conducted an aerial survey of the flood-ravaged districts in north Bihar, blamed the state government's "slipshod" approach for the "massive destruction" in the region caused by the breach in the Kosi embankment.
"The Bihar government did not not share crucial informations with the Centre on how to prevent the impending breach in the embankment and in ensuring proper coordination with Nepal to tackle the situation," he said at a press conference.
He accused the state government of having paid no heed to the advice of the high-level committee on the Kosi, which had on October 27 last year inspected the Kosi barrage at Birpur and found two of its spurs under threat from the pounding waters and suggested completion of the flood protection work there by June 15 this year.
