Patna (Bihar), Oct 12: Bihar has disbursed a total of Rs 726.17 crore in flood relief to 10,37,391 affected families, with Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary transferring Rs 112.14 crore to 1,60,201 families through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) on Monday. Each beneficiary family received Rs 7,000 in financial assistance, according to an official press release.

CM Choudhary also reviewed the flood situation in the state on October 6 and the damage caused by it, directing officials to submit a detailed report at the earliest. As per the release, the review meeting was held at the 'Sankalp' auditorium at Lok Sevak Awas in the presence of BJP national president and MP Nitin Nabin. During the meeting, Water Resources Department Secretary Dr Chandrashekhar Singh briefed the Chief Minister about the causes of the floods and the situation that emerged in the state in two phases.

During the first phase, the Ganga, Son, Ghaghra, Kosi and Punpun rivers recorded new highest water levels compared to previous records. In the second phase, the Gandak River recorded its highest water levels at four locations due to excessive rainfall. Six locations in West Champaran, Gopalganj and Saran districts witnessed damage to embankments.

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Disaster Management Department Principal Secretary Santosh Kumar Mall briefed the meeting about the relief and rescue operations carried out during the floods. Choudhary said a serious flood situation emerged this year due to the exceptionally high volume of water in the Ganga, Gandak and Son rivers compared to previous years. He said accumulation of silt in riverbeds was also one of the major reasons for floods. Bihar is the first state in the country to formulate a silt policy, the Chief Minister said.

The CM directed officials to continuously monitor the current condition of rivers and the damage caused by the floods and directed that a preliminary detailed report on the damage caused by the floods be submitted at the earliest so that relief, rehabilitation and necessary development works in affected areas could be expedited. (With ANI inputs)