Several victims of the 2008 Kosi floods, who were protesting against the delay in their rehabilitation, were injured when the police used force to disperse them from the Assembly entrance on Thursday.
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party raised the issue in Assembly, alleging pilferage of money meant for their rehabilitation.
On August 18, 2008, the devastating flood in river Kosi inundated nearly 1,000 villages in five districts, killing 534 people. More than 2.20 lakh houses were damaged and over 1,000 acres of agricultural land submerged.
For relief and rehabilitation, the State government got hundreds of crores of rupees, with several non-government organisations too coming forward to support the government’s programmes.
Despite Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s assurances, the people of the area struggled all through these years after the deluge. In search of livelihood, thousands of Kosi residents migrated to cities and several were pushed to penury.
Later, the State government constituted committees to estimate the loss and devastation, but even after six years, reports are yet to come.
Fed up with assurances of the State government, the flood-hit reached the State Assembly gate breaching prohibitory orders and shouted anti-government slogans while demanding early rehabilitation. “ We did not use force to disperse them but took some of them into preventive custody,” said Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Jitendra Rana.
However, the protesters said the police used force without any provocation. “It was a peaceful demonstration by the flood victims who have been suffering for long,” Mahendra Yadav who led the protest march told The Hindu .
“Even after more than six years, the Kosi area looks like a war-torn zone with damaged roads and bridges, broken houses and sand-filled arid fields. Farmers either have migrated to metro cities to work as labourers or are on verge of starvation,” added the young activist fighting for the cause of victims.
The Opposition BJP raised the issue of use of force on protesters. “Despite crores of rupees being provided by the World Bank and other sources, not more than 25 per cent of the damaged houses have been built so far in the area,” Opposition leader Nand Kishore Yadav said in the Assembly.
“Money meant for rehabilitation was looted. The State government should immediately release the recommendations of the committees constituted for the Kosi relief and rehabilitation,” he said.
