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More than 2 million affected by monsoon flooding in = India

Last Updated: Thursday, August 28, 2008 | 11:46 = AM ET=20

CBC = News=20

Villagers=20 wade through flood waters in Madhepura District in India's Bihar state, = where=20 about two million people are displaced or stranded after the Kosi river = burst=20 its banks, breached safety embankments and submerged roads leading to = the=20 region. (Aftab Alam Siddiqui/Associated = Press)

The prime minister of India toured the country's flood-ravaged = northern=20 region on Thursday where more than two million people have been = displaced or=20 stranded, declaring the situation a "national calamity and = unprecedented."

Manmohan Singh announced his government would provide 10 billion = rupees, or=20 around $228 million US to the northern state of Bihar and released = 125,000=20 metric tonnes of food grains.

The death toll in Bihar from the floods rose by 12 on Thursday to 47, = according to the Indian government's national disaster management = website.

Meanwhile, emergency officials are still struggling to reach those = affected=20 by the latest floods and contain a river breach in the state.

Air force helicopters continued to drop food and supplies to = flood-ravaged=20 areas, while government workers helped soldiers sandbag the bank of the = Kosi=20 river.

The river has changed course since the Aug. 18 breach, further = inundating=20 surrounding districts with floodwater and sweeping away villages, roads = and rail=20 lines.

Situation 'extremely grim': UNICEF

Government agencies have already removed more than 150,000 people = from the=20 affected region, while many times more have moved out on their own to = higher=20 ground and safer areas, said Mukesh Puri, an emergency officer for = UNICEF.

"The situation is extremely grim," Puri told CBC News on Thursday = from the=20 state's capital, Patna.

Meanwhile, relief agencies are concerned about infectious diseases = spreading=20 among the hundreds of thousands crowded into relief camps amid scarce = provisions=20 of clean drinking water and poor sanitation conditions, he said.

"People are using stagnant water, and if it is not purified, it could = lead to=20 some serious implications," Puri said.

More than 1,600 people have already died as a result of this year's = monsoon=20 season, which began in May and is expected to end in = September.

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Video

CBC's Jacquie Perrin interviews Mukesh Puri, an emergency officer = with=20 UNICEF (Runs: 3:18)=20: Play:&nb= sp;Real=20 Media =C2=BB=20; Play:&nbs= p;QuickTime =C2=BB=20

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