New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Tuesday to apprise him of the flood situation in the state which has affected at least one million people.

He sought a visit by a team of experts to review the silt deposition in the River Ganga and said a ‘Silt Management Policy’ should be formulated at the earliest, reports IANS.

Ganga and other major rivers have submerged vast swathes of Bihar over the last few days, forcing thousands to leave their homes. The disaster has so far claimed 14 lives, including nine in Bhojpur district alone.

Talking to reporters after meeting the prime minister, Nitish Kumar said the water retention capacity of Ganga has reduced due to siltation and that was a major reason for floods in the state year-after-year.

‘If we don’t realise the importance of desilting Ganga now, then the conditions would become worse in the coming years as its water will spread in more new areas,’ the Bihar chief minister said.

‘To improve the water retention capacity of the river, silt management is required and the government must think to bring ‘Silt Management Policy’,’ he added.

Kumar also requested Modi to send an experts panel to find a permanent solution to the flood problem.

‘I have requested the prime minister to send the experts to Bihar to assess the situation,’ he said, adding, ‘The prime minister has assured of all possible help.’

The Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader said that excessive siltation will also affect the Modi government’s Namami Gange project.

Nitish Kumar said heavy rain in the neighbouring states was adding to the problem as contributory rivers bring more water to the Ganga.

‘The Indrapuri barrage released around 12 lakh cusec water in river Sone in Bihar and Bansagar barrage also released huge amount of water resulting in unprecedented rise of water level,’ Nitish Kumar said.

Nitish Kumar stepped up his demand for removal of Farakka dam at a meeting with senior officials at the secretariat in Patna, Bihar, on 21 August. He asked the central government to remove the dam or come out with a silt management policy, reported Times of India.

‘Current flood like situation in 12 districts including Patna has been caused by huge siltation in river Ganga. This situation is result of silt being deposited in Ganga due to construction of Farakka dam in West Bengal. The only way to remove silt from the river is to remove the Farakka dam,’ Nitish told reporters after holding a review meeting with senior officials on flood situation at the state secretariat.

‘If the Centre has any other option (other than removing the dam), then it should start working for silt removal from the river bed,’ he said.

Earlier on 17 July 2016, Nitish had raised the demand for removal of the dam at the 11th Inter State Council meeting held in New Delhi, saying, ‘The disadvantages of the Farakka dam appear to be higher than its benefits.’

Raising the issue of Bihar’s share in Ganges waters at the Inter State Council meeting, Nitish had also sought the Centre’s intervention to ensure uninterrupted flow of water from the states of upper co-basin, so that the entire length of Ganga has continuous supply of water even during lean season. The Inter council meeting was chaired by PM Narendra Modi and attended by CMs of different states and Union ministers. Later in his Independence Day address in Patna, Nitish had said that the depth of river Ganga had reduced following the silt deposition in the river due to construction of dam at Farakka.