PM, Sonia Survey Flooded Areas in Bihar
Patna: Aug. 28, 2008
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PM, Sonia Survey Flooded Areas in Bihar
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Photo by Anupam Singh |
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, after their annual aerial pilgrimage to Bihar to see the devastation caused by this year's flood in the North Bihar with their own eyes, announced an assistance of Rs. 1,000 crore for the victims of the deluge that has taken hundreds of lives so far and counting.
Describing the situation in Bihar as a 'national calamity', the Prime Minister also pledged to release 1.25 lakh tons of food-grains for the victims of the flood.
Earlier, Singh, Gandhi, and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, flanked by their proud sponsors Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, RJD leader and Union Water Resources Minister Jai Prakash Yadav, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan, and former Bihar CM Rabri Devi, arrived at the Purnia Airport by an Air Force plane where he was received by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The leaders then boarded an Air Force chopper and surveyed flooded areas in Madhepura, Purnia, Supaul, Saharsa, and Araria.
The trip lasted nearly an hour and a half and after the usual, annual pledges and promises, the leaders, heaving a collective sigh of relief, left the state just as fast as they came.
Meanwhile, rubbishing claims of being too egotistical by the opposition leaders, Kumar on Thursday appealed to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to increase the number of trains from Purnia and Saharsa to help flood victims evacuate the area and reach for higher grounds.
Meanwhile, the United States Ambassador to India David C. Mulford on Thursday announced a financial aid or Rs. 40 lakh for the flood victims in Bihar.
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