'What happened in America?': Nitish Kumar, facing questions on Bihar floods, loses cool with journalists

As the toll following heavy rains and floods in Bihar rose to 42 on Wednesday, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lashed out at journalists posing questions to him him while he surveyed the affected areas.

While visiting Patna's Shri Krishna Memorial auditorium on Tuesday, which has been converted into a storehouse for relief material, Nitish was asked about the casualties owing to floods.

"In how many parts of the country and across the world have there been floods? Is water in some parts of Patna the only problem we have? What happened in America?" the chief minister asked.

Nitish told the media every possible relief effort is being extended to the affected. "No one is sitting idle. This is a natural calamity which was magnified by climate change," he said.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi inspected the pump houses from where water is being flushed out from the inundated localities.

On Monday, Sushil and his family was rescued from his house in Patna. Earlier on Tuesday, water also entered into the Patna residence of state health minister Mangal Pandey.

Residents of marooned Patna localities such as Hanuman Nagar, Rajendra Nagar and Kankarbagh were heavily inundated, with Indian Air Force helicopters dropping food, aid and other relief material. "Ganga River is on the rise in Bhagalpur. Kahalgaon belt has been affected badly. NDRF teams have been stationed there. Relief camps and community kitchens have also been set up," Partyaya Amit, Principal Secretary of the State Disaster Management Department, told ANI.

The NDRF has deployed 19 teams in 14 districts of Bihar and has evacuated more than 4,000 including women, patients, children and elderly and shifted them to safer places.

With inputs from ANI