Bihar floods could've been prevented if dredging was carried out along Farakka Barrage: Mamata

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asserted that floods in Bihar could have been prevented if dredging was timely carried out across Farakka Barrage stretch.

While addressing the reporters at a press conference in Howrah, West Bengal earlier today, Banerjee said: "Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and I had earlier also raised the importance of dredging the Farakka Barrage. We both might be political opponents but we did agree on the Farakka issue."

According to the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, so far 40 people have died in the state due to floods.

The Indian Air Force helicopters are dropping relief material to the flood-affected areas of the state. Five teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in Rajendra Nagar and Kankarbagh areas of Patna to assist people facing difficulties.

On being asked about Union Minister Amit Shah's visit to Kolkata for delivering a speech on National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizen Amendment Bill, Banerjee said: "He is a party man and I don't want to comment on this thing. There is no need to panic, it's Puja time so let everyone enjoy here.