Central team to visit drought-affected areas of Bihar

New Delhi, Aug 10 (ANI): A high-level Central team will visit Bihar on Wednesday to assess the drought situation arising out of monsoon failure.

"Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had sent a detailed report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh two days ago and based on that a Central team has been constituted to go to the affected areas, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

He further said the Centre can send a team to Jharkhand but a request has to come from the state.

"I have not received any suggestion from the Jharkhand government. I have written to the Governor seeking information and he has sent a report about 7-8 districts," Pawar added.n Bihar, 28 districts have been declared as famine-hit.

Earlier, Nitish Kumar has said that Bihar is facing severe drought-like situation and because of scanty rainfall we had to declare 28 out of 38 districts as drought-affected.

"Remaining 10 districts have also been kept under surveillance. If there is no rain in August we will have to declare these district also as drought affected," he added.

Kumar further said in 2007, Bihar's 22 districts were badly hit by flood, affecting 25 million people, and in 2007, the State had to face Kosi tragedy. (ANI)