Nitish Kumar seeks PM Modi's help to desilt Ganga, says feel like crying at river's condition in Bihar

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought Centre's intervention as he insisted that desilting river Ganga is the only solution to avoid the almost annual occurrence of floods in the state during Monsoon. 

"PM Modi has offered assurance to me and has said immediate and positive action will be taken on my demands, including formulating a national silt management policy," CM Nitish said after meeting the Prime Minister.

CM Nitish also urged Modi to send a team of experts to assess the unprecedented situation in the eastern state while noting that it is the best time to evaluate the conditions there. 

"The Prime Minister assured me that experts will be sent and a decision on this subject should be taken soon. Immediate and positive action will have to be taken," he said.

The Chief Minister expressed concern that the situation can only worsen if it is not dealt with effectively and the state will have to face more severe consequences in the coming years. Though Bihar has received 14 per cent less rains than normal during the monsoons, large parts of the state have been flooded due to high rainfall in Nepal besides states like Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, leading to huge discharge of water into rivers passing through it.

All earlier records have been broken, Nitish Kumar said about the flood conditions. Kumar said he had taken up the matter with the UPA government as well and taken the then minister concerned Pawan Bansal on a tour of the flood-hit regions but nothing happened after that.

His government is yet to evaluate the losses caused by the floods, he said adding that the state had suffered massive damages. 

"Floods have damaged more than 20 districts. But complete info can be given after damage assessment,” Nitish concluded by saying.