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Shivanand Shukla in Patna
The Bihar government has called in the army to assist in relief and rescue operations as swirling waters have submerged large areas, affecting nearly 500,000 people in 15 of the state's 37 districts.
Commissioner (Home) U N Panjiyar said troops were carrying out relief operations with eight mechanised boats that had been rushed from Ranchi in Jharkhand.
An Indian Air Force helicopter from the Gorkhapur air base in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh is helping locate flood victims in far-flung areas. So far no deaths have been reported, Panjiyar told IANS.
Flooding has occurred following incessant rain and the release of 470,000 cusecs of water from Nepal. Gopalganj, East Champaran, West Champaran, Sitamarhi, Supaul and Muzaffarpur districts are the worst affected as all major rivers in the region -- Gandak, Bagmati and Kamala Balan -- are overflowing.
Water Resources Commissioner Radha Sigh has directed the district magistrates of the affected districts to maintain constant vigil on the river embankments.
Chief Minister Rabri Devi along with her husband and former chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and ministerial colleagues made an aerial survey of the affected districts on Friday.
Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner Girish Shankar said the state government had released Rs 22.5 million to carry out relief and rehabilitation work in the affected areas.
Floods are a perennial problem in the state and nearly 73 per cent of its area is prone to floods.
Indo-Asian News Service
ALSO SEE: 100,000 affected in Bihar floods
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