It will flood when it rains: Bihar health minister's wife mocks plight of people in flood-hit state

Patna: As Bihar continues to reel due to floods caused by incessant rains, Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey's wife on Tuesday downplayed the plight of people saying, "It will flood when it rains." This has come at a time when the death toll due to the floods has mounted to 40 with many reportedly injured.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday made a remark on similar lines, blaming nature for the situation. Kumar said, "The imbalance in nature, climate change…" was the reason behind the flooding. 

With no relief in sight, four big pumps are reportedly being brought to Bihar to remove floodwater and accelerate relief work. Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force is dropping relief material to the flood-affected areas of the state. 

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 19 teams in 14 districts of Bihar. Five teams are operational at Patna, two are deployed at Bhagalpur and one team each at Buxar, Munger, Begusarai, Gopalganj, Kishanganj, Katihar, Khagaria, Madhubani, Supaul, Vaishali, Araria and Darbhanga.

"Since yesterday, 6,000-7,000 people including the elderly and patients have been rescued from the area. We are now concentrating on distribution of relief materials," NDRF Commandant Vijay Sinha was quoted by news agency ANI