Patna: Union minister for agriculture and farmers’ welfare and rural development Shivraj Singh Chouhan will begin a two-day visit to Bihar on Wednesday to assess flood-affected areas and review relief and rescue operations, officials said on Tuesday.Chouhan will conduct an aerial survey, visit affected villages to meet farmers and residents, and chair a high-level review meeting with senior officials in the presence of CM Samrat Choudhary. A team of senior officials from the Union ministries of agriculture and farmers’ welfare and rural development will accompany him.“In this hour of crisis, the Centre, under the leadership and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stands firmly with the farmers and citizens of Bihar,” a Centre communique said.According to the schedule, Chouhan will travel from Bhopal to Patna. At 10:30am, he will leave the Patna state hangar by helicopter for an aerial survey of flood-hit Dighwara and Maner. He will reach the Hajipur Police Lines helipad at 11am and proceed by road to Terasia and Saraipur villages, where he will inspect damaged fields and discuss crop losses and other problems with local farmers.After the field assessment, Chouhan will travel via Gandhi Setu to reach ‘Samvad’, Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Patna, at 12:15pm. He will join the CM and senior officials for a review of flood disaster management, relief operations and assistance for affected farmers.At 1:30pm, Chouhan will leave Patna for Nawabgarhi in Munger, where he is scheduled to arrive around 2:15pm. He will visit the Nawabgarhi relief camp, meet flood-affected people and assess the quality of ongoing relief work. He will then travel by road via Bhagalpur to inspect the Kojikaraiya embankment in Naugachhia.In the evening, Chouhan will visit the relief camp at Bhagalpur Polytechnic College, meet families taking shelter there and enquire about their well-being.After an overnight stay at the Bhagalpur circuit house, he will meet flood-affected people again on the morning of Sept 17 before departing for Patna.
