KALAM TO VISIT FLOOD AFFECTED BIHAR

Patna: Former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam with a team of experts will visit the flood hit areas in Bihar shortly.After reviewing flood situation in Bihar in a meeting with top officials of the state government on Sunday, the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that he wanted a permanent solution to the flood problem which was a recurring phenomenon in the state."Inviting Kalam was a part of the move of the state government to find a technically feasible solution for this problem," Kumar said.After a fresh flow of 172,500 cusecs water following incessant rains in Nepal, on Sunday morning, flood situation in the state worsened further. It has now spread into new areas of Purnea and Madhepura districts.Rescue and relief operations were speeded up following arrival of Indian Navy in the flood hit area of Kosi. People were being evacuated to safer places by 14 columns of the navy."Besides army, 355 soldiers of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) have already been deployed with well equipped motor boats," the Disaster Management Department Additional Commissioner Amrit Pratyay said.Pratyay added that 172 relief centres, 86 medical camps and 61 animal camps were functioning in flooded areas in full swing.Chief Minister Neetish Kumar has requested the Members of Parliament to give Rs 10 lakh each from their MP local area development scheme (MPLADS) fund for the rehabilitation of affected and renovation of Kosi embankment.Meanwhile, a criminal case was lodged against state Water Resources Minister Vijendra Yadav and other officials by a flood victim in the in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate at Saharsa on saturday.In a letter to Union Water Resources State Minister Jay Prakash Yadav, Veejendra clarified that as soon as he got the information about flood water rushing into the area on August 16, a team was sent to repair, but the Nepalese criminals created hindrance.In addition to this, a team carrying repairing materials was delayed unnecessarily by Nepali customs at Sunsary in Nepal. Later an SOS was sent to the government of Nepal, seeking help at the breach point.The Chief Minister further urged Vice President Hamid Ansari and the Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to extend cooperation at this critical moment.