Floods leave behind trail of destruction in Bihar

Floods in Bihar have left a trail of destruction with roads and railway tracks washed away, disconnecting several areas from rest of the country.

Patna, Aug 12 : Floods in Bihar have left a trail of destruction with roads and railway tracks washed away, disconnecting several areas from rest of the country.

Though there was some respite in rains and floodwaters receded, the worst floods in decades have damaged infrastructure and standing crops worth millions of rupees.

About 2.5 million people have been displaced or stranded in floods over the past fortnight in 20 districts in Bihar.

Darbhanga and Motihari are the worst affected districts.

Rail tracks have been washed away at several places bringing railway traffic on several routes to a standstill.

Ram Sheshram, a flood victim in Darbhanga, said: "Lakhura- Motihari road is badly damaged. People of four blocks are facing problems because of this."

BJP chief Rajnath Singh and JD-U President Sharad Yadav, both ruling coalition partners in Bihar, made an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas on Sunday.

Rajnath Singh said: "We have repeatedly appealed to the Central Government to provide adequate relief aid. We have not played politics with this issue."

The floods have caused damage to standing crops on 1.19 million hectares. The State Government has estimated the loss of crops to the tune of 263 million rupees, while four billion rupees worth of foodgrain stocks were lost in floods.

People have been left to fight over limited food supplies and medical relief. Police used batons to disperse villagers fighting over food and relief material late on Friday in Begusarai and Nalanda districts.

At least 61 new deaths by drowning have been reported from Bihar since Thursday evening.

ANI