We alerted people but we were not alerted: Giriraj Singh on Bihar floods

With flood creating havoc in Bihar and claiming around 40 lives across the state, Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Wednesday said that government is responsible for the deluge and it cannot shrug its responsibility in garb of terming it a "natural calamity".

"I accept the failure, I am representative from Begusarai. Even in Patna, there are MLA and MP of BJP. People are not responsible for the flood but we are. We cannot shrug our responsibility from our failures saying that nature is responsible for it," said the Union Minister.

He said that he will seek forgiveness from the public for the alleged government failure.

 

"For the shortcomings and for failures, I will seek forgiveness from Public," he added.

"We have alerted the people but we were not alerted," he added.

Even as Bihar continues to be under the deluge, an Orange Alert has been issued for Patna, Vaishali, Begusarai, and Khagaria districts for October 3 and 4, as these areas are expected to receive heavy rainfall.

People formed long queues to collect food packets and water bottles which were distributed by National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) in Rajendra Nagar area in Patna.

Meanwhile, to take stock of the situation, Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister and member Lok Sabha from Patna Sahib Constituency had also visited the flood-affected Rajendra Nagar area.

"I have visited all the areas of Kankarbag. The water has receded there to a great level. The biggest challenge is regarding health. Bleaching, fogging should be done...The administration is preparing a plan regarding that. As soon as the water level recedes, work will begin on it," said the Minister.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has rescued over ten thousand people from the state capital. The rescue teams have been rowing people across the flooded streets in inflated boats from the past few days.

Five NDRF teams have been deployed in Patna's Rajendra Nagar and Kankarbagh alone to assist people amid the flood situation. Water had also entered the Kankarbagh Police Station.

Indian Air Force helicopters have also been dropping relief material to the flood-affected areas.According to the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, 40 people have died in the state due to the floods so far.