While chief minister Nitish Kumar wants silt management policy and removal of Farakka Barrage from the Ganga as a permanent solution to the flood problem, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad

While chief minister Nitish Kumar wants silt management policy and removal of Farakka Barrage from the Ganga as a permanent solution to the flood problem, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday blamed the Jharkhand government for releasing excessive water which caused devastating floods in Bihar.

While talking about the ongoing relief and rescue operation in the flood-affected areas, the former Bihar chief minister said, “BJP-ruled Jharkhand released excessive water without information that caused floods in Bihar.”

Criticising Mr Yadav for his statement, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said that the immediate cause for flood in Bihar was heavy discharge of water from Indrapuri Barrage over Sone river in Bihar.

“His statement that BJP-ruled Jharkhand released excessive water is baseless. The reality is that Indrapuri Barrage had released 11 lakh cusec of water on August 20, which is the main cause of the devastating floods in Bihar. He must tell people where Indrapuri Barrage is,” former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said.

He said that the statement made by Mr Yadav was an attempt to defend his earlier controversial remark in which he had asked flood victims to consider themselves “fortunate as holy water from the Ganga has reached their door steps”. He maintained that “such statement only shows the seriousness of this government.”

According to the disaster management department reports, so far around 34 persons have lost their lives since Tuesday, mostly due to drowning. According to officials here, the main cause of concern for them is the evacuation of those who are still stranded in villages where water is likely to rise.