(Updates with UNICEF comments) PATNA, India, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Rising rivers in eastern India that swamped more land and homes on Tuesday have affected more than 2 million people, some of whom vented their anger by attacking officials trying to assess the damage. Since the monsoon began in June, torrential rains have killed more than 1,000 people in South Asia, mainly in India's states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh but also Nepal and Bangladesh. The Koshi river in the eastern state of Bihar, one of India's poorest regions, has broken its mud embankments in several places. The river also broke a dam in neighbouring Nepal, sweeping away seven villages, officials said. The death toll in Bihar rose to 46 overnight after 14 more villagers drowned in swirling waters, officials said. "Many villagers are still trapped and stranded at various places and our challenge is to save their lives," Nitish Mishra, a government official said. The U.N. children's fund UNICEF said cases of diarrhoea and fever were being reported in makeshift camps. "Given the scorching heat, unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene conditions, cases may soon increase," UNICEF said in a statement in New Delhi. Local people call the Koshi the "Sorrow of Bihar" for its regular floods and ability to quickly change course. "The Koshi river has changed its course and nearly 20-25 lakh (2-2.5 million) people of the areas have been affected," Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of the state, said after an aerial survey of the flood situation. Indian authorities warned of more rain in eastern India, including Bihar, with heavy falls in the next 4-5 days. ANGRY VILLAGERS Some experts blame the floods on heavier monsoon rains caused by global warming. Last year, floods in eastern India and Bangladesh killed around 2,000 people. Millions were affected and officials fear climate change will make similar disasters more frequent. In India's most populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the toll from this year's floods rose to 721, with four more deaths reported overnight, officials said. Angry villagers in Bihar, meanwhile, attacked government officials and a politician in flood-hit Araria district near the Nepal border, when they arrived on a fact-finding trip. "Their anger is natural since they never thought that floods would leave them stranded in this way and they were not prepared to face the floods which happened suddenly," Suraj Kumar Sinha, a senior state official, said by telephone on Tuesday. India's annual monsoon arrives in early June and retreats in September. It is vital for the irrigation of farmland in a nation heavily reliant on agriculture. But it leaves in its wake massive destruction, killing hundreds of people, destroying homes, crops, roads and bridges. Rising rivers have also swamped 36,400 hectares (89,943 acres) of cropland in the state, as wheat and paddy fields were lying under water. At least 40,300 people in Nepal have been affected by the flooding and authorities said there could be more breaches, unless repaired quickly. (Additional reporting by Gopal Sharma, Sharat Pradhan and Biman Mukherjee; Writing by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Mary Gabriel)
Flood-affected villagers take shelter at a roadside camp in Majra village, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh August 26, 2008. Torrential rains have killed more than 1,000 people in ...
