New Delhi, Nov 15 Art has brought Rs.40 million for flood victims of Bihar. Thirty-one leading contemporary artists brought together by Subodh Gupta and Bharati Kher have raised more than Rs.39.3 million through the Artists’ Flood Relief Charity Auction held Nov 11-12 by Saffronart.
The proceeds from the charity auction will benefit two NGOs, Samajik Shaikshanik Vikas Kendra (SSVK) and Goonj to support their flood relief work, a press statement issued by Saffronart said.
The top lots sold at the charity auction include an untitled painting by Gupta, which fetched more than Rs.17 million and a work by Bharti Kher titled “This Way and Never Another Way” that raked in more than Rs.845,000.
Ranbir Kaleka’s “Man with Torch” sold for over Rs.3.5 million, Riyas Komu’s Uttara-II capped at over Rs.1.7 million while Thukral and Tagra’s Somnium Genero-Canor 4,5,6 sold at RS 1.25 million.
“It was heartening to see people from across the world bidding online to support a human cause. We are privileged to have contributed to help flood victims,” artist Subodh Gupta, born in the Khagaul district of Bihar, said. The Gurgaon-based Trident Hotel and Nature Morte Gallery in Delhi partnered the auction.
In August-September 2008, the Kosi river flooded hundreds of villages in Bihar and left millions of people homeless.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Art brings Rs.40 mn relief to Bihar flood victims
IBM in Bihar flood, to make database
Patna: Information Technology (IT) giant IBM is helping the government in flood-hit Bihar to trace hundreds of missing people, particularly children, by using software to create a database.
"We are working with IBM to track missing people. We will start seeing the results soon," Disaster Management Department Additional Commissioner Pratyaya Amrit, said.
Last week, IBM executives met government officials and promised to prepare a database with details of people affected by the floods, number of people in relief camps, missing people, damage to life and property as well as internal resources available for relief and rehabilitation work, reports IANS.
"The database will be compiled in software specially designed by IBM to cope with information after natural disasters of vast magnitude," Pratyaya said.
The IBM software was successfully used after the 2004 tsunami in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia as well as during last year's floods in Bangladesh.
Pratyaya said that after evacuation and relief, tracking missing people was the government's priority.
The Disaster Management Department has prepared a lost and found data sheet that was sent to all district magistrates and relief camps in flood affected districts. A missing people's cell and a toll free number to lodge complaints about the people who went missing have already been set up.
The floods have claimed at least 50 lives, according to official estimates. However, voluntary agencies fear the number could be in thousands once all bodies are recovered.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Tata Indicom starts toll free number in flood affected area
PATNA: Reaching out `to help flood-victms, mobile telephone giant Tata Indicom on Saturday announced the starting of toll free number in the f
lood affected areas of five districts of Bihar, the company said in a release issued here on Saturday.
The toll free number is 18004190106 on which the flood victims can make calls without paying a penny.
Declaring the worst flood-hit districts of Saharsa, Supaul, Madhepura and Araria as Home Zone, the company said people in this region can make free calls on Tata to Tata phones.
+It is a small initiative from Tata Indicom for flood victims. This initiative would lessen their telecommunication difficulties,+ said Sanjiv Sinha, COO and East Regional Head, Tata Teleservices Ltd.
The company, which has 2.90 crore subscribers with a presence in 19 circles, said it has given four post-paid 'Tata Walky' to an NGO Jivika for three months to faciliate communication between the flood victims who can make calls free of cost through these post paid numbers.
Source: Economic Times
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
ndia, Nepal agree to start work on Kosi embankment
Kathmandu: Nepal and India on Wednesday agreed to start reconstruction of the damaged Kosi embankment in January.
Nepal-India Joint Committee on Water Resources meet, which concluded here Wednesday, decided to start the reconstruction of breached Kosi embankment after the water level goes down, Nepalese Water Resources Secretary Shanker Prasad Koirala said today.
The officials also agreed to expedite work related to repairing of barrage and to take measures of flood control and stop inundation at the earliest.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Bihar team visits TN to learn from Tsunami relief work
The team will take lessons from the Tsunami relief measures adopted by Tamil Nadu and to implement those for Bihar's flood affected areas
Patna: A team of Bihar officials, led by the Development Commissioner, is currently on a visit to tsunami-affected Tamil Nadu for studying the rehabilitation schemes and prepare a plan for the flood-hit victims in the eastern Indian state.
Development Commissioner S Vijayraghavan was visiting Chennai to study the tsunami-affected areas and model of development adopted by Tamil Nadu in the post-tsunami period, official sources in the state Disaster Management Department said on Saturday.
"Vijayraghavan will submit his report for rehabilitation and reconstruction to the state government after return from Tamil Nadu," official sources said.
Earlier this month, Vijayraghavan had visited Gujarat to study the model of rehabilitation and reconstruction in post-earthquake Gujarat.
Faced with the "Herculean task" of rehabilitating three million flood victims, the Bihar government decided to study the lessons learnt after the 2001 Gujarat earthquake and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, reports IANS.
The state government will also be helped by UNDP for rehabilitation and reconstruction in the flood-affected districts. "A team of UNDP is doing a field survey to assess the damage by the flood and it will submit report to the government soon on rehabilitation and reconstruction."
The state's Disaster Management Minister Nitish Mishra said that rehabilitating hundreds of thousands of flood-affected people is a 'Herculean task' and a big challenge.
"The state government plans to adopt the rehabilitation pattern used for victims of the tsunami as well as Gujarat's earthquake," he said.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar demanded Rs 8,923 crore from the central government for the rehabilitation of the flood-hit people a week ago.
Last month, the prime minister had termed the Bihar flood a national calamity and announced an immediate release of Rs 1,000 crore for relief efforts. He also announced release of 1.25 lakh tonnes of food grains.
More than three million people were rendered homeless and over one million cattle have been affected by floods as the Kosi river changed its course following a breach in an embankment upstream in Nepal on August 18.
The shifting river engulfed large swathes of Bihar, India's second most populous state.
The floods have claimed at least 50 lives, according to official estimates. However, voluntary agencies fear the number could be in thousands once all bodies are recovered.
About 9.89 lakh people have been evacuated to safer places till date. About 3.5 lakh people have taken shelter in over 300 relief camps in flood-affected areas, officials said. Around 50,000 more were still marooned in the worst-hit districts of Madhepura and Supaul, who refused to move out despite the government's repeated appeals.
The state agriculture department has estimated that standing crops in 1.75 lakh hectares of land have been destroyed in Madhepura, Supaul, Saharsa, Araria and Purnea districts.
Officials engaged in the rescue and relief operations said most flood-affected, homeless people were now living on high-rise places like embankments and highways apart from overcrowded relief camps set up by the government and NGOs.
An official said the state government had prepared a preliminary report on damages caused by the flood.
"But the real assessment of damages and losses will come to light after floodwaters recede fully by the second week of October," the official said.
Source :http://www.igovernment.in
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Why rivers decide to run away (By Divya A in TOI)
Is it natural for a river to shift course? What rights, if any, do the displaced people have? How can India check its surging rivers?
When the Kosi reverted to its 250-year-old course last month, leaving 30 lakh people homeless in northern Bihar, apparently due to heavy rains in Nepal, the near-Biblical scenes of havoc left many with just one question: Why? Why do rivers change course? What happens to the people they displace? Are these refugees of wayward rivers entitled to compensation for the land they lost? And just how prepared is India to check its surging rivers?
It’s futile to ask ‘why’, says A K Bajaj, chairman of the Central Water Commission because “it’s very natural for a river to keep shifting its course. It’s a part of its natural evolution.”
Bajaj explains that fast-flowing rivers are prone to silting up as they surge down the hills and spread out on the plains, allowing sand and suspended matter to deposit in their slower, wider depths. Over time, the deposits create resistance, forcing the river to move to an area of lower resistance. This is called changing course.
Nature’s fury — earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes — can change a river’s course as well. And then there’s man. Environmentalists now say at least some of the blame lies with human activity. Says IPCC chief RK Pachauri, “As a result of climate change, floods are increasing in frequency and intensity. It’s not possible to ascribe a single event such as the current floods in Bihar to human-induced climate change, but the trend is unmistakable. These are likely to get more serious in the future if the emissions of greenhouse gases are not mitigated at the global level.”
Bajaj agrees that “the volume of water in rivers has been on the rise, resulting in greater force of flow. Therefore, even relatively lesser amount of rain during monsoon can lead to a catastrophe”. He adds that “in the next 15-20 years, this phenomenon will continue till most of the glaciers have melted. After that, there will be just minimal flow of water.”
The role of natural evolution and nature’s fury in a river changing course may sound like one of the simplest lessons in a child’s geography book. But the effects can be complex. When waterside property suddenly becomes landlocked for miles and new waterfront acreage emerges, havoc ensues. Who owns the new land? Do the people who once farmed along the banks have any rights at all?
The government has a 54-year old formula by which land equivalent to 3.5 times the width of the river on either side is deemed the floodplain. Embankments are built on it. If a river has changed course, the new floodplain “is considered very fertile and good for farming although this stretch is never safe from floods,” says Bajaj. People want to settle on the floodplain because it is fertile and easily irrigated.
Not so the Kosi, the river of sorrow, which brings unfertile soil with it from the higher reaches. Authorities say that once the Kosi waters start receding, the breach in Nepal would be repaired. It is hoped that the river would revert to its original course. If that happens, the question is whether it would be possible to reclaim the 2.75 lakh acres of farmland, that are under water now.
The Kosi has forced public policy review before. It caused devastating floods in 1953-54, forcing the government to announce zoning to demarcate areas prone to flooding. An estimated 40 million hectares across India were classified flood-prone. But 54 years later, less than half are protected by embankments. “Issues like topography, policies and other factors cause delay. In Upper Assam, for example, we are witnessing rising levels of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries in Dibrugarh district. But the river is so huge and ferocious that it’s very difficult to tame it,” says a CWC official.
Officials at the department of hydrology studies say that building dams may be the best way out, as is the case with the Colorado river in the US. It has 30 dams to keep it in check. “In case of the Ganga and the Kosi, the government of Nepal, where both rivers originate, is not allowing construction of dams. So, we shall remain at perpetual risk,” says Bajaj.
It is true that dams have become a symbol of development at great human cost. Environmentalists protest against them. But officials say, “Either you protect human lives or you protect each and every plant and animal on this earth and negate human beings and their development.”
Damage control
The Kosi breached an embankment in Nepal on August 18. The river surged towards north Bihar on a new course, wreaking widespread havoc. The Bihar government is responsible for the maintenance of the embankment in Nepal under the terms of a bilateral agreement. The authorities say that once the floodwaters start to recede, it’s hoped that the breach would be repaired and the river reverts to its original course
IN DANGEROUS WATERS
The Kosi River in north Bihar is notorious for the meandering behaviour of its east-to-west course. In the past 250 years, the Kosi has moved westwards by more than 100 km
Bihar has a history of rivers changing course because of its terrain. The Ganga has been changing its course over the years and last year, a new 500-acre tract came into existence between Maner and Mokama. Ownership of this tract became a bone of contention between some landlords in the area
The Brahmaputra has a huge volume of water and is quite unmanageable. It keeps changing course and a major shift has been observed in the North-east since the 1960s
The Rupnarayan river in West Bengal joins the Hooghly after completing a 240-km course. It carries huge silt deposits and may be forcing the Hooghly to shift course
Areas of Uttarakhand, which are near the foothills, are at risk because the Ganga can change course.The Sone river in central India has been notorious for changing course, as is evident from several old beds on its east. In modern times this tendency has been checked with the anicut at Dehri, and now more so with the Indrapuri barrage
There is evidence of a steady westward shift in the course of the Indus since prehistoric times A SUBMERGED UNIVERSITY
The Gurukul University was established in 1902 on the banks of the Ganga in Kangri village in Bijnor district.
The institution, which was founded by Swami Shraddhananda to revive the ancient Indian gurukul system of education, famously played host to Mahatma Gandhi three times.
In 1924, the Ganga changed its course and parts of the campus were submerged. The areas that escaped the swirling waters were accessible only by boats, and that too, during low tide. Consequently, the varsity management was forced to construct a new building near Haridwar in Uttarkhand, again on the banks of the Ganga.
“The old building still remains under our management. We try to maintain it whenever it’s accessible and even organise some field trips for our students although no regular classes can be held there,” says its vice chancellor Swantantra Kumar.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Disease And Desperation In Floods ( SKY NEWS)
Nearly three weeks after the embankments of the River Kosi were first breached, there are still tens of thousands of people stranded in floodwaters in the Indian state of Bihar.
As we travelled through the state, people were coming up to us begging us to help and saying they had received no food aid or any relief whatsoever from the government.
Large swathes of the disaster zone are still submerged, with roads, bridges and train lines covered with water that is cutting off whole communities.
And one of the senior officials in charge of the disaster has warned the operation has entered a crucial stage.
Prataya Amrit has said he expects to complete the rescue of marooned people during the next two days.
But they are from some of the worst affected areas, so it is likely to be a laborious and dangerous operation, he added.
The reason why the rescue operation is coming short is because of acute shortages of boats in the region. Unusually, the affected area is not an annual flood-prone area.
Secondly, because of the heavy rains in northern parts of the area. It's virtually impossible... to even get to some of these villages.
Christian aid agency Tearfund's Prince David in India
Some of the water has receded but there are still six critical areas in the districts of Sepaul and Madhepura - the scene of rioting and looting during the distribution of food aid on Tuesday.
Now there is the added problem of disease taking hold.
The weather is sweltering, there is a lot of stagnant water which people are being forced to wade through to get to dry land and nearly a quarter of a million people have taken shelter in makeshift and crowded camps which offer little hygiene.
Locals are already claiming as many as 10 people have died of cholera in one area, although this has not been confirmed officially.
The floods started on August 18 when the River Kosi breached a dam in Nepal.
The river then changed course and the water swollen with monsoon rains coursed down southern Nepal and into central Bihar in India.
More than 700 villages were flooded. The waters have hit 15 districts, six of them critically.
About three million people are believed to have been affected and although official figures put the number of dead at around 90, aid agencies believe the real figure is much, much higher.
India's flood-hit Bihar grapples with epidemic fears
s flood waters receded in India's eastern state of Bihar, authorities and the military Wednesday faced the challenge of warding off mass epidemics in inundated areas and relief camps, news reports and officials said. More than 115 people have died in the state since the Kosi river breached an embankment in neighbouring Nepal and submerged large areas in Bihar on August 18, news outlets reported. The state disaster control organization however confirmed only 63 deaths.
"As the Kosi levels have come down by three feet, the key challenge now is to prevent the outbreak of infectious diseases in inundated areas and overcrowded relief camps," Bihar's top disaster management official Prataya Amrit said in the state capital Patna.
The relief group ActionAid said the relief camps were witnessing a big influx of rescued flood victims, creating health and sanitation problems.
"Besides the threat of malaria, people are drinking contaminated water due to shortage of potable water which pose a great risk of water and parasite-borne diseases," PV Unnikrishnan from ActionAid said.
The shortage of doctors and affordable medicines was making matters worse.
"We have come from very far in the search of medicine. My son has very high fever and there is no medical aid," flood victim Janaki Devi told the CNN-IBN network.
But the state government maintained it had made comprehensive arrangements to prevent outbreaks of disease.
More than 200 health centres have been opened and 900 doctors assisted by paramedical staff were attending to those who have fallen ill, Amrit said.
Meanwhile, the evacuation efforts entered the "final and critical" stage as an estimated 70,000 people marooned in six areas of flood-hit Supaul and Madhepura districts were to be rescued.
Approximately 650,000 people have been already evacuated and 250,000 have been lodged in 270 relief camps. About 8,000 soldiers and several naval divers have been deployed to rescue people and bring them to the camps.
Based on the inputs by various voluntary agencies, ActionAid estimated that more than 2,000 of the 3.5 million people displaced by the floods could be dead or missing.
But state officials dismissed the figure.
"If that were the case, many more bodies would have been found with the receding waters. It has been more than two weeks since the flooding began," Sudhir Meen, an official at the state flood control room said.
Meanwhile, India's north-eastern state of Assam has also been hit by floods as 16 of its 27 districts were inundated with the Brahmaputra River overflowing its banks.
Nearly 1 million people were displaced and 15 were dead in the second wave of floods since June as the army carried out operations in the state.
A total of 1,778 people have died this year across India in floods brought on by the annual monsoon rains that last from June to September, according to India's federal Home Ministry.
‘80-year-old’ leads war on Kosi in Nepal
A man, said to be in his 80s, is leading the war on the raging Saptakosi river that has been spreading death, destruction and disease in Nepal and India since last month.
Nilendu Sanyal, a former engineer-in-chief in Bihar’s water resources department as well as Flood Control Commission, is the architect of the blueprint that could tame the errant river and beat it back to its old course.
Sanyal, who retired almost two decades ago, is still active and only last year asked the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar to use a clever American technology to plug breaches in embankments, a common hazard in both south Nepal and India’s Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states during monsoon.
He is now leading the battle to stop the Saptakosi from destroying more spurs in its barrage. Floods triggered by the waters of the Kosi - as it is known in India - have affected millions of people in the two countries.
Sanyal was flown to Nepal’s submerged Sunsari district, where the Saptakosi barrage is located, Aug 31, to assess the damage. He was flown in by helicopter from Forbesganj in India as the roads are submerged and unusable.
Sanyal and other engineers from Bihar were taken to the site where a spur was in imminent danger of collapsing by motor boats.
‘He was an inspiration to all of us,’ said Jainendra Nath Singh, executive engineer from Bihar’s water resources department, who is camping in the area along with his team.
‘He remained on the spur, discussed what’s to be done and the next morning returned to India to discuss his plans with the authorities.’
Singh said Sanyal has a master plan to restore normalcy.
He has recommended digging a pilot channel so that the excess water of the raging river can be diverted, leaving it weak and then beat back the feeble river to its old course.
The barrage on the Saptakosi river was built in 1954 after a water-sharing pact between India and Nepal.
Nepalis accuse the then prime minister, Matrika Prasad Koirala, who signed it, of succumbing to Indian pressure and acceding most advantages to the bigger neighbour.
The barrage was built by India and according to the pact, the government of Bihar has to maintain it.
However, there are allegations of corruption and negligence on both sides of the border.
Nepal’s new Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called the Kosi pact a ‘historic blunder’ and is expected to discuss scrapping or reviewing the treaty with the Indian authorities when he visits New Delhi later this month.
Source:http://www.sindhtoday.net/health/17696.htm
Federal Foreign Office provides humanitarian aid to flood victims in India (Bihar)
The Federal Foreign Office has made up to 500,000 euro available for flood victims in the Indian state of Bihar and neighbouring regions. According to the latest reports 55 people have lost their lives in the floods and over 350,000 have had to be evacuated. Up to 2.5 million people are in danger as the river's water level continues to rise.
There is an urgent need for emergency shelters, food, drinking water and basic medical supplies. The allocated funds will go to German aid organizations on the ground who, due to years of experience in the region, can distribute the supplies most quickly to those who have been directly affected by the disaster.
India and the bordering states of Nepal and Bangladesh regularly experience severe flooding during monsoon season. In addition to providing emergency humanitarian aid, the Federal Foreign office supports disaster reduction projects in order to minimize the effects of such events.
Petroleum Ministry sanctions aid to flood hit Bihar
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has ordered an extra 10, 000 metric tonnes of kerosene for flood victims in Bihar besides sanctioning rupees 50 million rupees as part of its flood aid effort.
Announcing this at a news conference in New Delhi on Monday, Union Minister Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora said that the Government was trying to meet the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) needs of the flood victims free of cost.
“Our Ministry has sanctioned an amount of rupees 50 million for the relief of victims. In addition to this, an extra 10, 000 metric tonnes of kerosene have been sanctioned today which will be delivered on Tuesday. Besides, there was a request for LPG cylinders, the exact quantity we do not know,” said Deora.
The relief comes as saviour for the people in flood hit eastern state, currently facing a shortage of essential commodities.
Most of the petrol pumps and LPG stations in the flood-hit region have been destroyed or damaged by floodwaters.
The administration is taking the help of police in distributing commodities like LPG and kerosene, as there is danger of these being looted by the people.
Officials said three million people have been displaced from their homes and at least 90 killed by floods after the Kosi river burst a dam in Nepal, swamping hundreds of villages in Bihar and destroying 100,000 hectares of farmlands.
The Kosi, known as Bihar’s ‘river of sorrow’ for its regular floods and tendency to change course, gushed into the State inundating vast areas and affecting more than two million people.
Deora also ruled out any plans to cut retail fuel prices despite a sharp fall in crude oil prices in recent weeks.
Crude has slumped from mid-July’s record high of 147.27 dollar to about 117 dollar per barrel, but Deora told reporters that there has not been so much of a reduction in international crude oil prices.
India raised state-administered prices of petrol and diesel by about ten per cent in June to partly cut losses of state oil firms, which are forced to sell below market prices to help the government control inflation.
Ficci to raise fund from abroad for Bihar flood victims ( Source: Business Standard)
Industry body Ficci is exploring possiblilities to raise funds from abroad for the Bihar flood victims and will ask the government to relax foreign currency regulation norms for the purpose.
The foreign fund raising effort envisages tie-ups with NGOs, replicating the Gujarat model of relief work undertaken to help earthquake victims, where Ficci had managed to raise 22 million dollars.
"The Chamber will urge the Finance Ministry to relax the Foreign Currency Regulation Act to allow inflow of foreign funds for aiding the relief and rehabilitation works," Member of Parliament and Ficci President Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.
The industry body would also raise funds from Japan, Korea, Thailand and Singapore whose Buddhist pilgrims are regular visitors to Bihar, the chamber said.
The chamber today released its action plan for Bihar relief, rehabilitation and river policy that aims at providing succour to the flood affected people and also strategies for the prevention of such occurrences in future.
"The plan will undertake adoption of relief camps by big corporates," Chandrasekhar said adding corporates who produce packaged drinking water would be asked to donate in the relief camps.
Ficci would also look into the provision of providing shelters and income generation after the flood water recedes.
The chamber would also take up the policy issues governing the India-Nepal River Waters Treaty.
India suffers worst flooding in last 50 years ( France24)
The north-east Indian state of Bihar has seen the country's worst floods in 50 years. Over two million people have been displaced and 250 000 homes have been destroyed after the Kosi River burst a dam in neighboring Nepal in August.
Bihar flood: How you can help
The floodwater of river Kosi has inundated vast areas of Supaul, Madhepura and Araria districts of Bihar and is spreading into adjoining districts of Purnea and Saharsa.
It has created unprecedented havoc in the lives of people and destroyed vast property.
Please contribute generously towards the Chief Minister Relief Fund, Bihar.
Contributions received will be used to carry out relief operations and rehabilitation of those affected by the flood.
Contributions made to Chief Minister Relief Fund shall qualify for 100 per cent exemption from Income Tax under section 80g(2)(iii)(hf) of the Income-Tax Act.
Contributions can be sent by Cheque or Bank Draft in the name of CHIEF MINISTER RELIEF FUND payable at PATNA.
Funds can also be sent by electronic transfer into the account of:
CHIEF MINISTER RELIEF FUND, State Bank of India,
Account Number: 10839124928
Branch: Patna Secretariat, Bihar
The cheques/bank drafts may be sent to the following address:
CHIEF MINISTER RELIEF FUND
Chief Minister Secretariat
4, Deshratna Marg, Patna
Bihar, India - 800001
Telephone no: 0612-2222430, 2217793.
e-mail: cms-secy-bih@nic.in.
What Bihar needs?
The flood victims need blankets, utensils, milk powder, durries, Glucose- D.
Send all such donations to Red Cross centers across the country.
Disaster Relief State Control Room Number: (0612)- 2217305, 2215027, 6452572
Bihar flood destroys Rs 150-crore crop ( Economic Times)
Ravaging floods in Bihar have destroyed crops worth over Rs 150 crore so far and the figure could further rise in the coming days, a senior state government official said on Wednesday.
"Crops in 1.25 lakh hectares of area have been lost in the floods, and the total loss is estimated to be over Rs 150 crore," a senior official at the state Agriculture Departmen.
Paddy and maize crops have been washed out completely, he said, adding that pulses, vegetables and plantation crops such as banana have also been damaged.
The current floods have caused maximum losses in Supaul, Araria, Madhepura and Purnia districts.
According to the state Agriculture Department, the damages are estimated on the basis of area under crop and average yield levels in the flood-hit districts.
"We have not been able to send our officers to the flooded farm lands to assess the crop damage, as our top priority has been to evacuate people to safer places," he said, adding that the exact estimate of crop losses could go up after the field assessment.
Flood waters started flowing into Bihar when the Kosi river flowing from Nepal breached its banks two weeks ago.
Agriculture experts fear that Rabi crops may also get affected if the salty silt accumulates in the farm lands following the receding flood waters.
Advani to PM: Solve Bihar flood problem quickly
NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader LK Advani met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Wednesday to seek a solution to the problem of recurrent floods in Bihar, where around 25 lakh people have been rendered homeless in the worst ever floods in the Kosi region.
Advani urged Dr. Singh to find both long and short term solutions to the problem of recurrent floods in Bihar.
Advani, who made an aerial survey of flood-ravaged regions of Bihar along with State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday, said, "Since the recurrent floods in Bihar caused by rivers originating in Nepal have international dimensions, I would meet the Prime Minister on Wednesday to seek both long and short term solutions to the problem in coordination with the government in the Himalayan country,"
"In today's situation, everybody should come together to help rather than indulging in mud sledging," Advani added.
The state's main opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had earlier lashed out at the state administration, accusing it of laxity in providing relief to the flood victims.
The flooding, the worst in 50 years, was caused after the Kosi River breached a dam in Nepal. This unleashed huge waves of water that smashed mud embankments downstream in Bihar state.
The waters of Kosi gushed into the state inundating vast areas and affecting around two million people.
ArcelorMittal offers help for Bihar flood victims
Steel giant ArcelorMittal has offered help to the Nitish Kumar government to tackle the devastation caused by the Kosi.
Officials of the company have decided to supply relief materials for flood victims through the department of disaster management in Bihar. They are of the view that experts in disaster management can best perform in a crisis situation.
After discussions with officials engaged in catastrophe management in Bihar, the company has procured certain necessary items like inflatable rafts from the US to give a fillip to rescue operations.
A communiqué from ArcelorMittal confirmed that necessary steps are being taken to ensure that the relief materials reach the flood-hit areas in time. It also said that the company in partnership with several agencies will provide relief materials to the victims.