Millions Displaced By Floods in Bihar

ANCHOR:
Three million people have been displaced and at least 90 killed by the
flooding, which occurred after the Kosi river burst a dam in neighbouring
Nepal and changed its course, swamping hundreds of villages and destroying
thousands of hectares of farmland.

STORY:
Vast areas lie under water in India's eastern Bihar state, after the worst
floods in 50 years.
Three million people have been displaced by the flooding, and at least 90
have been killed.
The devastating floods occurred after the Kosi river burst a dam in
neighbouring Nepal in August.
The river then changed its course, swamping hundreds of villages in Bihar
and destroying around one hundred thousand hectares of farmland.
The Indian Air Force has deployed helicopters to distribute aid to victims.
Officials say bad weather and heavy rain have hampered rescue and relief
operations.
But the Bihar government has come in for heavy criticism from newspapers
and aid agencies for failing to evacuate villagers in time from the mostly
rural state.
The flood victims who managed to make it to these state-organised makeshift
relief camps say they're not getting enough help:

SOUNDBITE: Ram, Flood victim, saying (Maithili):
"We're languishing here under an open sky, facing the rains and
water. No bedding or anything else has been provided to protect us from the
water. If we say too much, they beat us up, we are poor people, what can we
do? There is nobody to listen to our problems."
The water levels are now receding in Bihar.
Many villagers are still marooned, and the government aims to evacuate
those who are stranded in the next couple of days.
More than one thousand people have died in floods in South Asia - mostly in
Uttar Pradesh in northern India - since the monsoon began in June.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ntd
• floods
• india
• bihar
• victims
• kosi
• river