Nitish Kumar undertakes aerial survey of flood-affected areas in Bihar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday undertook an aerial survey of different embankments and flood-affected areas in many districts of Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Munger, Purnia and Kosi divisions and directed the concerned authorities to carefully operate Gandak Garage.

The Chief Minister inspected the flood and COVID-19 situation in these areas.

He said the water levels of rivers in this region are comparatively low, however, the flood situation will remain till September. He directed the officials to enhance COVID-19 testing in flood-affected areas by setting up a camp at Air Force station.

He was accomped by the state's chief secretary Deepak Kumar, principal secretary to the Chief Minister Chanchal Kumar and the WRD secretary Sanjiv Hans.

He also flew over Ganga river in Bhagalpur and Katihar districts and over many areas in Supaul, Saharsa and Bhagalpur which have been affected by the floodwaters from Kosi river.

Meanwhile, flood situation continues in Muzaffarpur district as the water level of Bagmati river has risen following incessant rainfall in the region.

Over 30 teams, including those of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF were deployed to tackle the floods which have affected multiple districts in Bihar on August 6, according to the Disaster Management department of the state government.According to the data released by the department on Wednesday, 16 districts in the state have been affected by the rising waters.This has resulted in the loss of 19 human lives and affected a combined population of 66,60,655. A total of 12,202 people have been shifted to relief camps as of Wednesday.

The chief minister had conducted an aerial survey of flood-affected areas of the State on Wednesday. He had visited a flood relief camp and a community kitchen for flood victims in Darbhanga, one of the districts worst affected by floods.

( With inputs from ANI )