Union government stands firm with Bihar flood victims: Shivraj

Patna, Sep 16 (ABN) Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said that in this hour of crisis, the Modi government stands firmly with every farmer and the flood victims of Bihar and will leave no stone unturned to provide relief to the flood victims.
The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development today visited the flood affected areas of Hajipur, Vaishali, Mangir and Bhagalpur along with Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary along with Central and State Government officials on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They visited the flooded villages and fields by motorboat, boat and tractor and interacted with the people living in the relief camps to get information about their problems. Mr. Chauhan said that this time the flood water at many places has reached almost a foot more than the devastating floods of 2016. Due to being submerged in water for more than ten days, banana and maize crops have been ruined. He said that around 50 lakh people were reported to be affected by the floods, houses and livestock were damaged and it was very painful to see the hard-earned crops of the farmers drowning in such a situation. He said that in such circumstances, these data (farmers) do not need to be disappointed. The government will do all it can to protect their livelihood.
The Union Minister today inspected the water-logged areas in Tersia and Saraipur villages of Hajipur by motor boat and boat. Also reviewed the flood situation from Raghopur Six Lane Bridge. Inspected Nawagarhi Relief Camp and Kojikaria Dam in Mangir to obtain information on relief, security and water drainage arrangements. He then inspected the relief camps in Bhagalpur and interacted with the flood victims residing there.
Mr. Chauhan, meanwhile, said that the state government and administration under the leadership of Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary are engaged in relief and rescue operations. As an immediate relief to the affected families, an amount of Rs 7,000 has been started to be transferred to their bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Doctors and paramedical staff are being sent by boats to the flood-affected areas to provide medical facilities and medicines. He said that safe shelters, drinking water, dry ration and hot food have been arranged for the affected people.
The Union Minister said that the State Government is providing immediate relief from its State Disaster Response Fund and available resources. Officials from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development are assessing the damage at a preliminary level. An inter-ministerial central team will then be sent by the central government to Bihar, which will carry out a detailed assessment of the damage to crops, roads, bridges, houses and livestock.
Mr. Chouhan said that on receipt of necessary proposals from the state government under the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), action will be taken to provide relief as per rules at the central government level. He said that the Center and the state government are working together to get the people of Bihar out of this crisis and no affected family will be left helpless.
The Union Minister will attend a high-level review meeting at the Chief Minister's Residence, Ane Marg in the evening after inspecting the flood-affected areas, embankments and relief camps throughout the day. In this meeting, officials from the relevant departments of the central and state governments will discuss with them the issues related to distribution of relief goods, medical facilities, crop damage, compensation and rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure.