Centre to release white paper on floods

Patna, Sep 8 (UNI) The Union Water Resources Ministry today announced to release a white paper on the circumstances resulting into the catastrophic floods in North Bihar while life in the flood relief camps was limping back to normal.

Union Minister of State for Water Resources Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav told newspersons here that the ministry would soon come out with a white paper on utilisation of the central funds by the Bihar government released for maintenance of the embankments.

Reiterating his allegations, Mr Yadav blamed the Bihar government for its lackadaisical attitude in handling the situation saying that the Nitish Kumar government was in slumber till the Kushah embankment developed breach on August 18.

Referring to the communications between the state government and the Centre over the condition of the Kushah embankment, he said the state government was not at all vigilant on the most sensitive issue and the fund released by the Centre for the maintenance of the embankments were ''misappropriated''.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Home Shakeel Ahmad told newspersons in Supaul that the Centre had constituted six separate teams under the Union Water Resources department which would work in tandem with the Nepal government as well as the Bihar government for repairing of the Kushah embankment over river Kosi at the point of breach.

Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan also spoke about permanent solution to the flood menace and during his visit to Katihar alleged that the state government's negligence resulted into the breach in the Kushah embankment.Similar negligent attitude was also visible on the part of the state government in relief and rescue work, he maintained.

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