Ara: Ara MP Sudama Prasad has urged Bhojpur district magistrate Manesh Kumar Meena to provide homestead land to 66 families in Jawaniya village under Shahpur block who lost their homes during the Ganga floods in 2024-25.In a letter to the DM, Prasad said almost the entire village was submerged during the floods. While the govt had provided homestead land ‘parchas’ to 127 families who lost their houses, 66 families belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and extremely backward communities were yet to receive the documents.“Such families are facing great hardships. Therefore, the administration must provide the ‘parchas’ and homestead land to these 66 flood-affected families,” the letter stated.The issue was also raised recently by several flood victims, mostly women from marginalised communities, when the district magistrate stopped his cavalcade and interacted with them. The DM had assured them that their grievances would be addressed at the earliest.The CPI(ML) has also demanded Rs2.5 lakh for each flood-affected family to rebuild their houses, a school at Bilauti village, where the families have been rehabilitated, and an adequate number of hand pumps at the rehabilitation site.Prasad also sought compensation for farmers who lost standing wheat crops in a fire at Banahi village under Bihiya block on April 2 this year. He said the govt had prepared a list of 115 eligible farmers, but only nine had received compensation so far.“The remaining 106 eligible farmers should immediately be provided compensation so that they can continue farming without financial distress,” Prasad said in the letter.Drawing the administration’s attention to drought-like conditions in the southern parts of Bhojpur, Prasad said around 52 villages in the area known as the ‘Tapa’ region were facing water shortages.“In several villages, paddy sowing has not taken place due to inadequate canal water, while crops in areas where sowing has been completed are wilting due to insufficient water. There is an urgent need to ensure canal water reaches the tail-end agricultural fields in these water-deficient areas,” he said.The district administration has assured prompt redressal of the genuine concerns raised by the MP on behalf of flood-affected families and farmers.
