The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Saharsa

Flood-hit northern India is in dire need of international aid on the level of that seen after the 2004 Asian tsunami, a state official said Wednesday.

A large swathe of the already desperately poor state of Bihar is likely to remain under water for several months, leaving authorities coping with at least a million people who have lost everything, officials and aid workers said.

"We will definitely need the support of international organisations and agencies, the same as after the tsunami (in 2004) or the Gujarat earthquake" in 2001, said Bihar disasters minister Nitish Mishra. "It is not possible for just the government to have a complete rehabilitation policy on its own. Whatever more is available, we need it." The flooding started on August 18, when a river burst through defences upstream in Nepal and changed course to cut across a large rural area in Bihar state. Officials said work to fix the flood walls and divert the Kosi river back to its normal course cannot begin before the rainy season ends in October, and may not even be completed before early next year.

About 600,000 people have already been evacuated from the flood plains, but 350,000 more still need to be plucked from roofs or isolated high ground and brought to safety, they say.

However aid workers said that in some areas the currents were still too strong, and that much of the food being dropped by air had landed in water.

"All the wells and water sources are gone. We foresee a scarcity of water, milk, food. Crops have been destroyed. Land will not be fit for cultivation for six to seven months after the waters recede," said S.P. Singh, Red Cross chief in Bihar.