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WRAPUP1-Angry South Asia flood victims protest in streets
09 Sep 2008 09:21:00 GMT
 Source: Reuters
People raise their hands during a protest demanding permanent housing after floods damaged their homes in the city of Patna, capital of the eastern Indian state of Bihar, September 8, 2008.
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People raise their hands during a protest demanding permanent housing after floods damaged their homes in the city of Patna, capital of the eastern Indian state of Bihar, September 8, 2008.
REUTERS/Krishna Murari Kishan

Background

•  S. Asia monsoon

•  India religious violence

•  Chikungunya

•  South East Asia Monsoon

•  AIDS pandemic

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By Biswajyoti Das

GUWAHATI, India , Sept 9 (Reuters) - Fresh monsoon flooding brought more death and distress across South Asia on Tuesday, while many of the hundreds of thousands of flood victims in relief camps complained of poor facilities.

Seven people drowned when overnight rains caused more flooding in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, raising the death toll to 25 since the Brahamaputra river burst its banks and submerged villages last week.

Thousands of angry villagers in Assam took to the streets on Tuesday to protest against the government's failure to prevent the disaster.

They accused authorities of not preventing erosion along the banks of the Brahamaputra, one of Asia's largest rivers.

Officials were clearly worried.

"The flood situation could turn worse if it starts raining again," a disaster management official said.

At least 1,000 people have drowned or died in house collapses or from snake bites across South Asia this monsoon season.

Authorities in the flood-hit Indian state of Bihar pulled out six of the 11 military helicopters from relief operations, saying evacuations were nearly over.

"We think there is not much requirement for helicopters at the moment," Bihar Disaster Management Minister Nitish Mishra told Reuters.

The Kosi river, which originates in Nepal, burst a dam last month and unleashed the worst flooding in 50 years. About three million people have been displaced from their homes in Bihar and some 900,000 people have been evacuated to relief camps.

Of those evacuated to the camps, about 15,000-20,000 people went back home to protect belongings, complaining of filth and sickness in the camps.

"I have not taken a bath for the last 20 days since I don't have a spare sari ... It's a hell," said 25-year-old Ketaki Devi of Madhepura district said after leaving one of the camps.

Indian media and flood experts have criticised the government's response to the crisis as weak and ineffective.

NO FUEL TO COOK

In neighbouring Bangladesh, heavy flooding continued in northern districts and rural areas, leaving thousands of people without food, drinking water and cooking fuel.

Villagers went without food for days in Bogra, said Khairul Alam, a local official in Bangladesh's northern district.

"Even those who have some ability cannot cook as their houses are under waist-deep water," Alam told Reuters.

The two-week old flood has killed 12 people in five northern districts in Bangladesh and affected nearly four million people, of whom nearly 200,000 have been forced from their homes.

Health officials said water-borne diseases such as dysentery, skin diseases and diarrhoea have broken out in many areas and army and medical personnel were distributing medicines.

But many said they were not getting any help from authorities.

"I am here with my family for about a week without any help from anyone," said one villager from Kurigram in Bangladesh's northern district. (Additional reporting by Hasibur Rahman in Bogra; Writing by Melanie Lee; Editing by Bappa Majumdar and Paul Tait)


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Topics

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Background information

Briefings
India religious violence - [Who works where]
S. Asia monsoon - [Who works where]

Topics
Health Floods
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Bangladesh India Nepal

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Police arrest Tibetan protesters near Chinese consular office in Kathmandu September 9, 2008. Tibetans living in Nepal were protesting the Chinese actions in Tibet. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar (NEPAL) ...


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Last updated:Tue Sep 9 12:24:10 2008