Chief Minister Nitish Kumar flies over a flood-hit area in Bihar (PTI)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sending the Army and teams of the National Disaster Response Force to
flood-hit parts of the state for relief operations - barely hours after the chief minister sought help from the centre.
Officials say 202 people have died in the Bihar floods. Araria is the worst-affected district.
While Mr Kumar thanked PM Modi for sending help to the flood-hit state in no time, BJP President Amit Shah thanked the Janata Dal (United) for
deciding to join the National Democratic Alliance. Mr Kumar's party the JD(U) announced yesterday it will join the NDA, its old ally.
Mr Kumar said the government will help people in the flood-hit districts to rebuild their lives. "There will be no shortage of funds," the chief minister said. "...The disaster victim has the first right to the government's funds," he added.
Mr Kumar is also scheduled to visit a relief camp to check its condition. In the past five days, over four lakh people have taken shelter at 1,336 relief camps.
Heavy rain in the entire Himalayan region has also triggered floods in Assam. In Bihar, the state disaster management department has asked people living in low lying areas to move to higher places as heavy rains continued.
Water level in major rivers in the state including the Koshi, Mahananda, Gandak, Bagmati and Ganga have been in spate, officials said.