LS urges govt to find a lasting solution to floods

New Delhi, Aug 24: Members of the Lok Sabha today urged the Government to initiate measures for finding a lasting solution to prevent devastation caused by annual floods.

Members, both from Opposition and Treasury benches, were united in their view that crores of rupees were spent every year to meet the situation arising out of floods but not much attention had been paid to find a ''lasting solution'' to the menace.

The members said most of states affected by floods, particularly Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, share borders with Nepal.

''Therefore, a solution could only be found in cooperation with Nepal Government,'' they said.

They sought to know what was the progress on the Indo-Nepal Cooperation treaty.

Resuming the debate, BJP's Syed Shahnawaz Hussain urged the Centre to release full amount of Rs 8611 crore demanded by the Bihar government to face the situation, regreting that only a meagre amount of Rs 114 crore had been so far sanctioned by the UPA Government. Mr Hussain said if proper dams were constructed on rivers flowing down the Himalayas from Nepal, the country would also be able to generate power to the tune of 10,000 MW, besides floods could be prevented in north Bihar and eastern UP.

He urged the Centre to provide at least Rs 5,000 to each farmer whose crop had been damaged due to floods, and a shelter under the Indira Awas Yojana.

Mr Nikhil Kumar, Congress, painted a very grim picture of floods, saying about 30 lakh families were affected and millions of people displaced. He emphasised the need for desilting and strenghtening of embankments, saying the rivers from Nepal carry a lot of silt. He accused the Bihar government of delaying the relief work as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was away.

Mr Braja Kishore Tripathi, BJD, said Orissa faces drought, floods or cyclone every year and without proper assistance from the Centre it was difficult for the state government to handle the situation.

He said this time both southern and western part of Orissa was badly affected. Mr Tripathi regretted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced an assistance of Rs 200 crore for the state well before the floods, but it had not yet been ordered as the Centre had released just Rs 25 crore so far.

Mr Prabodh Panda, CPM, sought more funds for the state to meet the situation and suggested that there was need to take preventive measures rather than getting into action only after floods occurred. He said the problem was so big that the state government with its meagre resources, could not handle it. Therefore, it was expected from the Centre to grant assistance liberally, he said.

Mr Mohammad Mukeem, BSP, stressed the need for finding a permanent solution to stop recurrence of floods. He called for strengthening of embankments of rivers. He demanded Rs 5,000 be paid to each farmers for loss of crops and livestock besides a house under the Indira Awas Yojana.

UNI