Patna: Flood victims in Bihar’s Nalanda district broke into a government warehouse and looted foodgrains yesterday to protest inadequate assistance given to them by the government, officials said.
“Hundreds of flood victims forcibly broke open the lock of a godown (warehouse) of the state disaster management department at Sarmera block office in Nalanda in the presence of the police and looted rice and wheat,” district official Sunil Kumar said.
He said the foodgrains looted from the godown were meant for distribution among flood victims.
Kumar said 80 bags of wheat and more than 250 bags of rice were carried away by the looters.
Earlier, more than 2,000 flood victims staged a protest at the block office, demanding adequate relief.
Flood victims in Bihar Sharif, headquarters of Nalanda district, had blocked roads for hours on August 29 protesting what they said was inadequate relief and compensation.
Nalanda is one of the 15 flood-affected districts in the state.
A few days ago, flood victims in Saharsa, Supaul and Khagaria had also staged protests against insufficient relief given to them.
More than 1.8 million people have been affected by the floods, with major rivers, including the Ganga, Kosi, Gandak and Bagmati, submerging large tracts of land and forcing thousands to be evacuated.
Till date, floods have claimed more than 20 lives, including 12 in Nalanda.
IANS
