New Delhi, Aug. 10 (PTI): The CPI today pointed fingers at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's efforts to provide relief to the flood affected, saying it was surprised to know that he has not sought central aid to tackle the grave situation.
A delegation of party MPs led by senior leader Gurudas Dasgupta met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged him to extend all possible help to the state, reeling under severe floods that claimed around 170 lives.
"It is most surprising that the Chief Minister has not made any request to the Centre so far when most of the areas in the state are reeling under serious flood situation," he told reporters.
Bangalore, Aug. 10 (PTI): In the grip of rain fury, which has claimed 30 lives in various parts of the state in the last one week, Karnataka today appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to sanction Rs 500 crore as immediate assistance to take up relief works in the flood-battered areas.
The deaths were reported from August 1 to 8, taking the toll in rain-related incidents to 242 so far, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy said adding a compensation of Rs 1 lakh has been paid to the relatives of the victims.
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug. 6 (PTI): The Central team that arrived here recently to study the flood havoc in Kerala had clearly understood the magnitude of the damage, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said today.
They have realised that the damage was much more than the assistance of Rs 1500 crores sought by the state, he said after meeting the team members, headed by S K Chattopadhyay, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs here.
"However, it is not possible to say now how much the centre will release as assistance," he said.
The team had appreciated the fact that Kerala submitted a memorandum in a proper format, seeking assistance, he said, referring to the criticism of the Congress that the LDF government had not done so.
"There is no point in blaming the team that visits the state for the Centre not sanctioning adequate assistance for flood relief works," he said.
The funds were sanctioned on the basis of norms and guidelines formulated five years ago, he said.
