Bihar rains: Nitish, SuMo under fire for sloppy relief

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday came under sharp criticism after 49 people were reportedly killed in the heavy rainfall in the last couple of days in the state.

Senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi was more in the line of fire after the video, in which he was seen being rescued by the district administration from a water-logged Rajendra Nagar, went viral.

“This is the same Modi, who, earlier as MLA of Patna, used to stage dharna and hold demonstrations in the 90s (during Lalu-Rabri rule) whenever there was slightest rainfall or water-logging in Kankarbagh or Rajendra Nagar. Now that he is in the power, he preferred to make a hasty retreat after being rescued. He should have joined the relief and rescue operations and set new precedence,” said Congress legislator and AICC media panellists Prem Chandra Mishra.

Sushil Modi, on his part, took stock of the submerged areas on Tuesday, but his efforts were “too little, too late.”

“It is a matter of shame that people in the State Capital have been forced to remain indoors since Saturday due to water-logging, though there has been no rain here for the last two days. It seems the entire drainage system has collapsed. Is this the way Patna will be made a smart city?,” lamented retired engineer UN Choudhary.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who also happens to be a Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib, assured that the government had requisitioned ‘high-quality’ pumps from Coal India Limited (CIL). “The CIL pumps are quite heavy and have been despatched from Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh). Once it is pressed into service, the drain water would be flushed out soon,” said the Union Minister.

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar, who took stock of the relief and rescue operations in rain-affected areas, was slammed by Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav. “Bihar CM must issue a white paper detailing every expenditure made in the last 15 years. In the name of urban development, sewerage system, drainage infrastructure & disaster management! As always he is blaming weather, nature, Nakshatra & Opposition for his 15 years failure (sic).” tweeted Tejashwi.