Bihar will not have to return money taken for flood relief: Mukherjee

August 30th, 2009 PATNA - Over 15 lakh people continue to reel under the deluge in Bihar's 11 districts, as all rivers in the state are continue to be spate. According to the Central Water Commission sources, there seems to be no let up in the overall flood situation in Bihar as the rivers Kosi, Mahananda, Bagmati, Kamala balan and Adhwara and their tributaries are flowing above the danger level at many places in the state.

August 22nd, 2009 LUCKNOW/PATNA - The flood situation remains grim in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as all rivers in both states are flowing above the danger mark. Bihar recorded eleven deaths, while sixteen people have died in Uttar Pradesh.

August 4th, 2009 TILAKRAJPUR - Flood situation worsened in Bihar as some more villages were submerged, leaving thousands of people in need of immediate help. The swollen Bagmati River breached its embankment in Sitamarhi district, in a stretch of 40-50 metres at Tilakrajpur area, on Saturday, inundating vast tracts across a number of villages.

August 3rd, 2009 Sitamarhi (Bihar)/SIDDHARTHNAGAR - Rivers and water channels breached embankments in Siddharthnagar district in Uttar Pradesh leaving thousands of people in need of immediate help. Over 200 villages are reeling under the flood situation while 42 have been deserted.

July 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The central government has not asked Bihar to refund the Rs.1,000 crore given for the relief and rehabilitation of the Kosi flood victims, parliament was informed Friday. "There is no question of recovering the money.

May 11th, 2009 PATNA - Hitting out at the Congress, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a key ally of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Monday accused the party of playing politics over last year's devastating floods in the state. 'The centre had given immediate relief of Rs.1,000 crore (Rs.10 billion) when the Kosi floods devastated Bihar.

April 21st, 2009 PATNA - Senior Congress party leader Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said that Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav would not be a part of the next government. Addressing an election rally in Samastipur, Mukherjee said: "Lalu will neither form the government or will be a part of the next government.

March 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The European Commission (EC) has committed a further 2 million euro (Rs.134 million) to assist with rehabilitation activities for flood victims in Bihar, in its third financial contribution for the cause, EUAsiaNews reports. The EC humanitarian aid for Bihar now totals 6.5 million euro (Rs.434 million) since the Kosi River embankment collapsed in neighbouring Nepal last August causing heavy flooding in the area.

February 28th, 2009 PATNA - Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Friday gave Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over Rs.40 crore (Rs.400 million) for the assistance of the Kosi flood victims in the state. Apart from Rs.386 million from the Railway Minister's Relief Fund (RMRF), Lalu Prasad, who heads the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), provided Rs.20 million on behalf of his party.

January 2nd, 2009 PATNA - Gautam Goswami, a former Patna district magistrate and a key accused in the Rs.170 million ($3.86 million) Bihar flood relief scam of 2004, was admitted to a hospital Saturday and his condition was described as critical, a family source said. Goswami has been suffering from cancer for over a year.

January 2nd, 2009 PATNA - Hundreds of Bihar flood victims broke into a government store in Supaul district and stole food grains to protest against the inadequate assistance provided to them by the state government, officials said Saturday. 'The flood victims broke open the lock of a godown (store) in the presence of the police Friday evening and looted rice and wheat,' said Basant Kumar, an official of the state Vyapar Mandal that runs the storage facility.

January 2nd, 2009 PATNA - A case was lodged against four people, including a block development officer (BDO), for allegedly embezzling flood relief funds in Bihar's Purnia district, police sources said Saturday. Manorma Devi, the pramukh (village chief) of Banmankhi block in the district, lodged a case against four people including BDO Shailesh Kumar, whom she accused of forcing her to sign papers for release of relief funds, amounting to Rs.18.7 million, for the 14 flood-affected wards of the block.

December 29th, 2008 PATNA - An 'anti-Repression Day' was observed in many parts of Bihar Tuesday, a day after hundreds of flood victims clashed with police while protesting against the inadequate assistance provided by the state government. Thousands of flood victims from Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul districts had blocked roads and railway lines Monday and disrupted normal life at different places.

December 29th, 2008 PATNA - A day after over 50 flood victims clashed with police while protesting against the inadequate assistance provided by the Bihar government, the Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M) Tuesday observed an anti-repression day condemning the police action. Thousands of flood victims from Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul districts had blocked roads and railway lines Monday and disrupted normal life at different places.

December 28th, 2008 PATNA - The flood-hit victims of Bihar Monday blocked roads and railway lines to protest against the inadequate assistance provided by the state government to them. Thousands of victims from the districts of Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul disrupted normal life at different places.