FOOD MINISTER REVIEWS FLOOD/DROUGHT SITUATION IN BIHAR AND U.P.
Food Ministry will operate hundred
procurement centres in Bihar during the Kharif marketing season
2002-2003. At present, FCI and the primary Agriculture Cooperative
Societies are operating 40 purchase centres in the State. The
storage capacity in the State will be strengthened by construction
of additional three lakh tonnes under the seven year guarantee
scheme of the Food Corporation of India. This assurance was given
by Shri Sharad Yadav, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food
and Public Distribution to an all party delegation from Bihar
which called on the Minister to discuss the flood/drought situation
in the State here today. The delegation included Shri Jagdanand
Singh, Minister of Water Resources; Shri Purnamasi Ram, Minister
of Food & Civil Supplies; Smt. Veena Sathi, Minister for Cooperatives
and Shri Prayag Choudhari, Minister for Revenue & Land Reforms.
In addition, Shri Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Smt. Kanti Singh and
Shri Raghunath Jha, Members of Parliament from Bihar participated
in the discussion besides, Shri Nitish Kumar, Union Railway Minister.
Shri Yadav also assured them to personally tour the affected areas
of Bihar early next week to assess the damage.
The Union Minister was appraised
by the all party delegation that of the total 38 districts in
Bihar, 17 were affected by floods. Of these, five districts viz.
Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Gopalganj and Madhubani are
the worst affected.
The Minister also reviewed
the flood/drought situation in Uttar Pradesh at a meeting with
the State Food Minister, Shri Babu Ram and senior officials from
the State, and promised to consider sympathetically demand from
the State for additional foodgrains in Uttar Pradesh. The State
has received scanty rainfall in 62 out of 64 meteorological districts
while the border areas of Nepal, district Kushinagar and Bahiraich
were reportedly affected severely by floods. Damage assessment
to public property and agriculture crop is being carried out.
