Published 11:14 IST, June 24th 2020
Nitish Kumar holds meet to review monsoon preparedness; emphasises communication lines
Nitish Kumar suggested various ways to ensure that there are no floods, such as planting trees and focusing on ensuring that communication lines are secure.
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A high-level meeting was chaired by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday for reviewing preparedness in the face of rising water levels of rivers originating in Nepal and flowing through the states northern districts. CM Kumar suggested various ways to ensure that there are no floods, such as planting trees, and focused on ensuring that communication lines are secure.
Nitish Kumar chairs meeting
The high-level meeting was held with officials from the state water resource department. The meeting comes at the back of Nepal halting repair work along the river. The state government believes that developments across the border will result in its efforts to prevent floods to be on a backfoot.
कोशी, गंडक, कमला एवं अन्य नदी बेसिन और सीमावर्ती क्षेत्रों तथा पिछली बार जहां कटाव हुआ था, उन स्थलों पर सुरक्षा हेतु बाढ़ सुरक्षात्मक कार्यों का कार्यान्वयन पूरी तत्परता से करने का निर्देश दिया गया है। https://t.co/Um1AEZxf64 pic.twitter.com/qi2cJ0jqJW
— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) June 23, 2020
At the meeting where Water Resources minister Sanjay Kumar Jha and top officials led by Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar were present, the chief minister instructed that flood control measures be completed at the earliest and Nepalese authorities be taken into loop wherever required.
On Monday, Jha had expressed concern over the neighbouring country denying access to officials from Bihar to territory falling on the other side of the border for completing repair of embankments which was essential to prevent the state from getting ravaged by floods in rivers like Gandak, Kosi and Kamala.
"The Gandak Barrage has altogether 36 gates, half of which fall on our side. Repair of these has been completed by our engineers and their helpers. However, when they tried to cross over to the other side for doing the needful for the remaining 18 gates, maintenance of which is carried out by us, they found the barricades," the Bihar water resources minister was quoted by PTI.
Jha is also hoping for an intervention by the Central government and will be writing to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) regarding the issue. "I am going to write a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) seeking its intervention in the matter. Access is also being denied to a 500-metre-long stretch on an embankment on the Lal Bakeya river. Nepalese authorities are contending that it falls in a no man's land. But the mud structure has been around for three decades," he said.
11:14 IST, June 24th 2020