PM promises full aid to five flood-hit states
Flood situation in Bihar under control: Nitish
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed concern over the worsening flood situation in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand and promised total support from the centre in rescue and relief operations.
He spoke to UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, official sources said.
Modi said Home Minister Rajnath Singh was closely monitoring the situation and had spoken to Chief Ministers of the five states to take stock of rescue and relief operations.
“I pray for the safety & wellbeing of those in areas affected by floods in parts (of) UP, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan & MP,” he tweeted. “Centre assures total support in the rescue & relief operations. I hope the situation in the affected areas normalises at the earliest,” he said in a tweet.
In Madhya Pradesh, torrential rains have lashed western parts disrupting normal life. The Ganga had yesterday crossed the danger mark in West Bengal, Bihar and neighbouring districts of Uttar Pradesh where Yamuna river is also in spate, while heavy rainfall has created a flood-like situation in some parts of Rajasthan where six persons have died so far.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said the flood situation in Bihar is under control, adding he has urged the Centre to deploy experts who can analyze the situation and come up with measures to avoid such calamities and damages in future. Nitish, who is a strong critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sarcastically said that he has not asked much from the Centre in this hour of crisis.
“We have not kept any demand, we have only asked the Centre to send experts so that they can come and inspect the affected areas so that we can combat the situation and stop further damage, otherwise the situation can aggravate,” said Kumar.
“The situation is that initially the water level was a matter of concern, but the water level has reduced of late. The water resources department yesterday told us that slowly everything will come back on track. The water level might increase a bit but that would not be a matter of concern. Similarly, the water which has already entered the villages will also flush out soon,” he added.
As floods ravaged some parts of the country, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh earlier today spoke to the Chief Ministers of four flood-hit states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Rajasthan — and assured all central help in dealing with the disaster.
The Chief Ministers — Akhilesh Yadav, Harish Rawat, Nitish Kumar and Vasundhara Raje — briefed the Home Minister on the flood situation during the telephonic conversation. According to reports, the Chief Ministers also informed Singh about the operations carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Forces in affected areas. PTI