Flood cripples normal life in eleven Bihar districts

October 3rd, 2009 BANGALORE - Rescue and rehabilitation efforts for the flood-hit in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have acquired an urgency after the death toll from incessant rains crossed to over 130. The Army, Navy and Air Force have been called out for rescue and relief operations.

September 11th, 2009 PATNA - More than 300,000 people have been affected by flash floods caused due to heavy rains in drought-hit districts of Bihar, an official said Friday. Thousands of people in over 100 villages in Gaya, Nalanda, Jehanabad and Nawada districts were rendered homeless and are struggling to survive on roads and other high places.

September 10th, 2009 PATNA - Several villages in Bihar are facing a flood-like situation as rising river waters continue to enter through damaged embankments. Villages coming under the Dhanrua subdivision of Patna are particularly affected, with water levels of the Dharda and Karrua rising sharply.

August 27th, 2009 KEVATI - Angry and anguished villagers have blamed government apathy for the flood-related havoc across Bihar. Thousands of people have been displaced after the Misraulia dam broke in theState's Darbhanga district inundating several villages in the region.

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 10th, 2009 PATNA - The Bihar Government has declared 26 districts in the State as drought-hit. The decision was taken at the cabinet meeting today.

July 15th, 2009 PATNA - As saving human lives is the priority of BIhar, which is annually ravaged by devastating floods, the World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA) has now stepped in to help the state protect its cattle during natural calamities. "The WSPA has selected Bihar, the first state in India, to help to save the livestock," Philip Russel, director of the disaster management wing of the WSPA, said here Wednesday.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Minister of State for Water Resources Vincent Pala, on Thursday informed the Lok Sabha that arsenic found in ground water from several districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has been reported to be way above the prescribed limit. "Arsenic in ground water exceeding prescribed limit of 10 parts per billion (ppb) has been reported from some parts of 28 districts of Uttar Pradesh and 15 districts of Bihar," Pala stated in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.

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 - 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 - 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.

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 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 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.