By IANS,
New Delhi : The home ministry said Friday that all possible help, including food, medicines and military support was being provided to Bihar which is in the grip of unprecedented floods.
“The centre (central government) is providing all possible assistance to Bihar to deal with the flood situation. Four army columns, five helicopters, 118 boats and 624 national disaster response forces have been provided,” the home ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said 125,000 metric tonnes of food grains have been allocated to the state. Besides, 3,732 tents and 100,000 water bottles have been sent since Thursday.
“More tents and boats are being organized by the central government,” the statement added. The health ministry is to supply 20 million halogen tablets for water purification.
The ministry said the National Crisis Management Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary reviewed the flood situation in Bihar Friday. On the advice of the ministry, relief commissioners of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa instructed their district magistrates along the Bihar border to provide boats.
The floods in Bihar are due to the Kosi river changing its course due to a breach in an embankment upstream in Nepal.
Officially 12 people have died in the floods but the unofficial toll is 57. The floods have affected over two million people in 14 districts. Around 150,000 people have been evacuated so far.