In the Maner block in Patna district, dozens of villages along with the Mahavir Tola Primary School were washed away in the floods in Ganga river and the villagers had to found shelter in the schools in Maner. AIARLA national president Rameshwar Prasad, member of the district committee Com. Poonam Devi along with other leaders visited the flood relief camps and found that the government has not made necessary provisions for the flood victims. There was no milk available for the children and no provisions for fodder for animals. The leaders asked the BDO of Maner to make immediate arrangements for the same. Observing no improvement in the district administration’s response, peasant leaders Ramkumar Singh and Rameshwar Singh sat for an indefinite hunger strike beginning on 29 August. The support of the flood victims and the zeal of the agitators forced the Maner BDO to visit the site of the strike on the 4th day of the indefinite fast and announce from the podium that the victims will be speedily rehabilitated and the compensation for the lost crops and relief amounts will soon be paid. The hunger strikers broke the strike only after a public announcement of these assurances. The struggle ensured relief for these villages and has also generated an enthusiasm among the masses.
