Patna, September 14 (ABN) Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Assembly and National Working President of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Tejaswi Yadav on Monday said that 4.5 lakh people have been affected by floods in Bihar and there has been massive loss of life and property.
Mr. Yadav said that whenever there is a situation of rain and flood in Gujarat, the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister are mobilized and get information about the situation from the state government and various agencies are deployed for relief and rescue. He said that even when one person died due to rain in Gujarat on July 23 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Amit Shah took information of the situation through video conferencing from the Chief Minister there and asked the Air Force and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to remain alert.
The RJD leader said that a few years ago when Gujarat was flooded, the Prime Minister had conducted an aerial survey and given a relief package of Rs 500 crore. He said that the teams of Army, Air Force and NDRF were engaged in the rescue work and the affected people were given assistance of two lakh rupees.
Mr. Yadav said that more than 50 people have died due to floods in Bihar, thousands of cattle are missing and thousands of crores of rupees have been lost. He said that around 4.5 lakh people have been affected, but the central government has not yet received the relief as expected. He said that the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister should discuss the flood situation in Bihar with the state government and provide necessary assistance for the relief work.
The RJD leader said that even in Bihar, lightning kills a large number of people every year, but it is not listed as a national disaster and is not compensated by the central government. He said that assistance is provided by the center when people die due to rain in Gujarat. The leader of the opposition said that earlier when the disaster situation arose in Bihar, the leaders of different political parties put their political differences aside and united before the central government for the rights and interests of the state. He said that at present Bihar has 30 MPs and eight Union Ministers and they should raise the problems of the state before the Centre.
Mr. Yadav said that despite being in the opposition, he has been demanding help from the central government since day one regarding the flood situation and has also written a letter to the Prime Minister. He said that if any package is received from the Centre, it will benefit the Bihar government and the people of Bihar, so they have no personal interest in demanding assistance from the central government.
The leader of the opposition said that he will continue to raise his voice for the interests of Bihar and the people of Bihar. Mr. Yadav said that Bihar has always stood firm for its rights before the central government and efforts should be made to rise above political differences on issues related to the interest of the state.