Bihar BJP president corners Nitish Kumar as flood death toll rises to 42

The death toll due to incessant rainfall and floods in different parts of Bihar rose to 42, officials said on Wednesday.

"Ganga river is on the rise in Bhagalpur. Kahalgaon belt has been affected badly. NDRF teams have been stationed there. Relief camps and community kitchens have also been set up. 42 deaths have been reported so far," Partyaya Amit, Principal Secretary of the State Disaster Management Department, told ANI.

Meanwhile, Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal attacked the Nitish Kumar-led government, accusing it of administrative negligence on dealing with the flood situation in Patna.

"I have been disturbed over the situation in Patna for the last three days. Although the rain stopped 24 hours ago, the waterlogging still persists. This shows that there has been administrative negligence," Jaiswal wrote on his Facebook post on Tuesday.

 

He said that the Bihar government should analyse the entire situation in the next 10 days and take action against erring officials.

Nitish Kumar on Tuesday visited the flood relief camps set up at Krishna Memorial Hall in Patna and said that all relief efforts are being made for the affected people in the city. He also said that the state government has been dealing with everything to its best capability.

On Monday, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi and his family were bailed out by National and State Disaster Response Forces (NDRF) as they were stranded after flood-water burst into their house.

Five NDRF teams have been deployed in Rajendra Nagar and Kankarbagh areas of Patna to assist people facing difficulties while Indian Air Force helicopters are dropping relief material to the flood-affected areas of the state.

The NDRF has deployed 19 teams in 14 districts of Bihar and has evacuated more than 4,000 people including women, patients, children and elderly and shifted them to the safer places.

Many districts of Bihar, including state capital Patna, have been affected by floods triggered by incessant rainfall in the state recently. The capital city has been witnessing acute waterlogging, with residents resorting to unusual modes of transportation in order to move from one place to another.