Leading From the Front: Bihar CM Serves Food to Flood Victims; Shares a Meal with Them in Sonpur

Patna/New Delhi- Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary conducted an extensive tour of Vaishali and Saran districts on Monday to take stock of relief and rescue operations in the flood-affected areas. Reassuring disaster victims during this difficult time, the Chief Minister’s humane side came to the fore when he personally took charge of a community kitchen. During his inspection in Vaishali district, the Chief Minister served food with his own hands to flood victims at the community kitchen of a relief camp. Meanwhile, at a relief camp in Sonpur, Saran district, he sat among the people in a community meal and ate with them, personally checking the quality of the food.

The Chief Minister also interacted with children at the camps, asking about their education, studies, and food. He inspected the separate accommodation arrangements made for women and men.

Ganga Water Level Falling; Compensation to Be Provided After Survey

Giving an update on the situation, the Chief Minister said that the water level of the river Ganga has fallen by 17 to 18 centimetres. Around 1.5 million cusecs of water continues to be released from the Farakka Barrage, and further improvement in the situation is expected over the next two to three days.

The Chief Minister made it clear that once the water level returns to normal, a survey will be conducted to assess the losses suffered by every affected family. Crop damage will also be accurately assessed, and farmers will be provided appropriate compensation.

The Chief Minister also inspected the separate accommodation arrangements for women and men at the relief camp. At the health camp, he sought information from doctors about examination and treatment facilities and instructed officials to ensure that flood victims receive immediate medical attention whenever they fall ill.

After reviewing the veterinary camp, the Chief Minister directed officials to ensure adequate medicines and fodder for livestock. He said that animals should not face any hardship because of the floods.

Permanent Solution to Flooding to be found

Speaking about the devastation caused by the annual flooding of the Ganga, the Chief Minister said that the state government is seriously working towards a permanent solution. Discussions are underway with officials of the Central Water Commission regarding containing the flow of the Ganga within a defined stretch, so that the people of Bihar can be freed from the destruction caused by floods every year.

Relief Operations: Key Figures

• 226 community kitchens are currently operating across the state, through which 3.75 lakh people (375,000 people) have been provided meals so far.

• Four relief camps are providing accommodation, food, and medical facilities to 2,505 flood-affected people.

• 81,100 polythene sheets and 19,000 dry-ration packets have been distributed among flood-affected people.

• 1,602 boats are currently being used for transportation, while 37 teams of the NDRF and SDRF are deployed and on standby.

• In cases of deaths caused by drowning in floodwaters, the dependents of the deceased have been provided an immediate ex-gratia payment of ₹4 lakh each.

During the inspection, Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Deputy Chief Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, MLAs Janak Singh, Sanjay Singh, and Siddharth Patel, along with other public representatives, were present.

Also accompanying the Chief Minister were Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Deepak Kumar, Disaster Management Department Principal Secretary Santosh Kumar Mall, Home Department Principal Secretary Pankaj Kumar, Vaishali District Magistrate Varsha Singh, Saran District Magistrate Vaibhav Srivastava, Saran Senior Superintendent of Police Roshan Kumar, Vaishali Superintendent of Police Shubank Mishra, and other senior officials.