Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said he had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to expedite dialogue with Nepal for finding a permanent solution to the recurring floods in the state.
"Floods recur in Bihar every year during monsoon as all rivers originating from the upper Himalayan kingdom continue to wreak havoc inundating vast countryside in the state," Kumar told reporters.
Asserting that relief and rescue operations with the help of IAF personnel were being carried out on a warfooting, Kumar said the Prime Minister had assured him of all help. "Four IAF helicopters are airdropping relief materials, including prepared food packets in the flood-hit districts of Darbhanga, West Champaran, Madhubani and Sitamarhi," he said after concluding his day-long survey of the deluge-hit Bettiah, Begusarai and Samastipur.
"The Prime Minister told me that he is sending Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on August 7 to make an onthe-spot assessment of the situation," Kumar said, adding the state Government had prepared a detailed memorandum to be submitted to Patil during his visit seeking financial assistance.
Source-The Indian Express, 6Aug,2007
