Tejashwi Yadav urges Centre to declare Bihar floods a national disaster

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare Bihar’s floods a national disaster and provide Rs 5,000 crore in immediate assistance. He also sought enhanced rescue operations, farmer relief, an audit and a long-term flood resilience mission

Patna: As severe floods continue to affect large parts of Bihar, Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the Centre to declare the situation a national disaster and provide immediate financial assistance of Rs 5,000 crore to the state. More than a dozen districts have been affected by the floods, with lakhs of people facing difficulties caused by rising river levels, damaged infrastructure and disrupted connectivity.

In his letter, Yadav said the situation had affected 20 districts and caused extensive damage to life, property and public infrastructure. He said flood-affected people were struggling to access basic necessities, including food, clean drinking water, medicines, electricity, cattle fodder and safe transportation.

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Yadav criticised the relief and rescue measures being undertaken by the Bihar government and the NDA-led Centre, describing the assistance as inadequate considering the scale of the crisis. He also accused the Bihar government and NDA leaders from the state of failing to secure adequate central assistance and a national-disaster declaration.

The RJD leader argued that Bihar’s recurring floods are not solely a natural disaster but also reflect years of inadequate disaster preparedness, mitigation and adaptation. He pointed out that despite floods occurring almost every year, sufficient measures for a permanent solution have not been implemented.

Yadav also raised questions over the state government’s financial preparedness for the crisis. He alleged that Bihar’s Contingency Fund and other financial resources had been diverted towards routine government expenditure, leaving insufficient funds for flood relief. The RJD leader called for an independent review or CAG audit of the state’s financial and disaster-management preparedness and the utilisation of the State Contingency Fund.

In his letter, Yadav urged the Prime Minister and the Central Government to take immediate measures, including declare the devastating floods in Bihar a national disaster, provide Rs 5,000 crore in immediate financial assistance along with a special flood-relief package, deploy additional boats and other resources to flood-hit areas where road connectivity has been disrupted, deploy the Army and Air Force wherever necessary for rescue and relief operations and ensure assistance through helicopters, ensure adequate supplies of food, drinking water, medicines, animal fodder and temporary shelters, provide special financial assistance to farmers, labourers, livestock owners and affected families, and conduct an independent review or CAG audit of the state’s disaster-management preparedness and the utilisation and transactions of the State Contingency Fund. Yadav also called for a comprehensive, long-term Flood Resilience Mission to address Bihar’s recurring flood crisis.

According to him, the mission should focus on river and embankment management, drainage systems, rejuvenation of water bodies, modern flood forecasting and improved water-management policies. He also called for effective water-management cooperation and agreements with Nepal, Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries.

He highlighted Bihar’s geographical vulnerability to floods, claiming that around 76% of the state’s land area is prone to flooding, with the vulnerable area increasing further during periods of heavy rainfall and rising river levels.

Yadav said the immediate priority should be saving lives and providing relief to people affected by the floods. The people of Bihar are in distress; they require concrete relief and accountability, not politics, he said in his appeal, urging the Centre to view the situation as both a humanitarian and national responsibility. He also requested Prime Minister Modi to visit Bihar at the earliest and provide all possible humanitarian, financial and logistical assistance to the flood-affected state.