CM Nitish kumar makes aerial survey of flood-hit areas

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday undertook an aerial survey of Masaurhi, Dhanarua, Mokama, Sarmera and Taal areas affected by Punpun flood. Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and state water resources department minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias

Lalan Singh

accompanied the CM

The CM conducted a high-level meeting with the officials concerned and gave necessary instructions to carry relief and rescue operation in the flood-hit areas.

Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor and DM

Sanjay Kumar Agarwal

were directed to speed up the rescue and relief operations. The engineers are pressed into action at five places where the ring bund over Punpun are facing threat due to water pressure.

“The protective bund at Jahidpur, Sultanchak, Sheikhpur, Shahabazpur and Bakpur are one the verge of developing cracks,” JD (U) MLA from Phulwarisharif Shyam

Rajak

told TOI over phone. He said the

Jahidpur

bund was most vulnerable and engineers were at work to save it. “The villagers are on high alert and, if necessary, people will be rescued by the administration. Most of the Punpun catchment areas are agricultural land,” said Rajak, who had been coordinating with the water resources department engineers.

Officials said the CM also conducted an aerial survey in some rain-deficient areas of the district. He instructed the officials to arrange drinking water and diesel for the farmers and supply uninterrupted power so that the standing crop is saved.

“The administration should launch extensive awareness campaign in the villages about the supply material so that affected persons can access to the government facilities,” said an official adding that CM also asked the officials to conduct survey of crop coverage in rain deficient areas of the district.

He said villages where communication had been disrupted should be approached with boats and with the help of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel to distribute relief material among the flood-hit people.