Nitish's native place, 13 districts of Bihar affected by flood

, Aug 18: Four more districts including Belchi in Nalanda, the ancestral village of ex-Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, were under the grip of flood which has affected 5.8 lakh people in 13 districts of

, officials said today.

In view of growing magnitude of floods in Bihar, four more battalions of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) has been rushed from the neighbouring West Bengal to join their eight teams already engaged in relief and rescue operation, Vijay Sinha Commandant of 9 NDRF battalion told PTI.

Four more districts including Patna, Gopalganj, East Champaran and Sheikhpura were under the grip of flood today, Anirudh Kumar, Special Secretary in Disaster Management Department (DMD) said. He said 43 blocks in 13 districts of Bihar are under floodwater affecting 5.8 lakh people. It comprises of 156 panchayats and 525 villages. Darbhanga, Nalanda, West Champaran, Supaul, Saharasa, Nawada, Sitamarhi, Khagaria and Muzaffarpur are other districts witnessing inundation. There is no information of any fresh death in the flood.

Two persons had lost lives in flood till yesterday. Kumar said the good news is that many rivers were showing receding water trend. Water level has come down in Kosi, Gandak and Sone, he added. NDRF Commandant Vijay Sinha said that his battalion was carrying rescue operation at a war-footing in the marooned districts.

Along with rescue work, relief by way of food, medicine and other necessities were being provided to people taken out from these areas, he added. Around 38,000 people have been evacuated so far and 75 relief camps have been set up in the affected districts. 487 boats including motorboats, government country boats and private ones have been pressed into service for relief and rescue operations, Kumar said.

PTI