The overall flood situation in Bihar on Friday further improved with major rivers receding while the state government stepped up relief for the marooned people in the 20 flood-hit districts.

Major rivers like Bagmati, Kosi, Kresh and Gandak continued to recede, a Central Water Commission report said.

Chief Secretary K A Subramanian said the state government had further intensified relief.

To ensure proper distribution of relief material in the flood-hit areas, the state government had constituted all party vigilance committees from panchayat to district level.

The relief materials were also being sent to the flood-hit areas by road through Nepal, he said.

Forty doctors were suspended all over the state on charge of dereliction of duty during floods, Subramanian said.

The state had requested the Union Fertiliser Secretary to arrange for distribution of small packets of fertiliser through IFFCO, he said.

The state sought financial assistance worth around Rs 8,000 crore from the Centre for relief and rehabilitation of the flood-affected people.

State disaster management department sources said the death toll in the current spell of floods in the state remained 605 with no fresh deaths reported from anywhere during the past 24 hours.

The chief secretary ruled out any dearth of essential commodities in the affected areas.

He said NABARD sanctioned Rs 50 crore to develop rural connectivity in Samastipur district under rural integrated development scheme. 

Over 20 million people were affected by the calamities that had caused extensive damage to standing crops, private and public properties in over 8000 villages spread over 20 districts in Bihar.