Patna:Bihar today sought more assistance from the Centre as the overall flood situation showed signs of improvement with water level of the Kosi, which has changed its course, receding for the second day.

Official sources said the state government sought more assistance from the Union Cabinet secretary K M Chandrashekhar who held a meeting with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Besides GI sheets, the state government has asked for extra quantity of kerosene, LPG and mobile hospitals with life saving drugs in flood-hit areas.

The state government also asked Chandrasekhar to convene a high-level meeting for infrastructure building, the sources said.

After attending the meeting with the Union Cabinet secretary, Kumar said the state government has evacuated over six lakh people from five worst-affected districts of north Bihar and the rest would be be evacuated in the next 48 hours.

Additional Secretary of State Disaster Management Pratayay Amrit said that personnel from the Army, Navy and the Airforce had fanned out to remote areas with relief materials and were evacuating maroonned people.

Quoting Lt General H S Panag, he said that 43 army columns with the help of navy and IAF personnel were assisting the police and civil officials in reaching relief materials and evacuating the people.

IAF choppers had air dropped over 1.21 lakh food packets containing parched rice, jaggery, powdered gram, match boxes and candle sticks in Madhepura, Saharsa, Supaul, Araria and Purnia districts.

The choppers and a plane having a capacity to carry 40 tonnes of relief materials, were already functioning from the Purnia airbase, Amrit said.
Source : PTI