World Bank gives $220 mn aid for Kosi rebuilding

Washington, Sep 10: The Indian state of Bihar will be receiving USD 220 million from the World Bank towards rebuilding efforts in the Kosi region devastated by floods in 2008.

In a statement released on Friday, Sep 10, the World Bank said that the Bihar Kosi Flood Recovery Project would finance flood recovery efforts through the reconstruction of about 100,000 houses, 90 bridges and 290 kilometres of rural roads.

"For more than a decade, the Bank has been assisting the Government of India in effectively responding to disasters. We will bring the lessons learned from the past to our efforts in Bihar," Roberto Zagha, Country Director, World Bank India said.

The bank also aims at strengthening flood management capacity, restoring livelihoods and improving the emergency response capability through a provision of contingency funding.

The 2008 Kosi floods has been etched in the Indian history as one of the worst disasters, in which over 2.5 million people were affected.

OneIndia News