By IANS,
Patna : A man was seriously injured when police opened fire on protesting flood victims demanding adequate relief in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district Thursday, officials said.
Hundreds of angry flood victims staged a protest in Bhagalpur, the worst flood affected district in the state, demanding government help. “They shouted slogans against the government demanding adequate relief and compensation for their damaged crops,” a district official said.
However, when they threatened to gherao local officials, police baton charged and opened fire in which one person was injured.
Police officials said that they were forced to opened fire to disperse protesting flood victims who pelted stones and attacked them.
The state government Thursday sounded a red alert in the flood affected districts following heavy rains in the state and the catchment areas of Nepal.
The floods have affected more than 1.5 million people in 15 of 37 districts of the state.
The State Disaster Management Department officials said that flood waters had entered more than 1,000 villages in 500 panchayats and rising level of most rivers threatened to inundate many other villages.
The affected villages were in the districts of Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Munger, Begusarai, Katihar, Araria, Purnia, Saharsa, Darbhanga, Madhepura and Saran.
Thousands have been forced to take shelter on embankments and highways, and in school and other buildings on high ground.