Patna, Nov. 10: An 11-member central team will arrive in Bihar on Friday to assess the damage caused by the recent flood in various regions of the state.

The Bihar government had submitted a memorandum to the Centre on September 22, demanding compensation to meet the losses caused by the flood.

The central team was supposed to visit the state on November 10, but on November 4 the Central government intimated the Bihar government that the visit was deferred because of a meeting organised by the Public Accounts Committee and the commencement of the winter session in Parliament on November 16.

The delay prompted chief minister Nitish Kumar to write a letter to Union Home minister Rajnath Singh during Chhath Puja last Saturday where he expressed angst over delay in granting flood relief assistance to the state.

In the letter, Nitish said: "The estimated loss due to the flood is around Rs 4,111.98 crore."

An official from the state disaster management department suggested that the letter has had the desired impact, as the Union government has now decided to send a team on November 11 on a two-day visit. The team will be led by Ajay Ramesh Sule, the joint secretary of the ministry of home affairs, and officials from the Union ministries of home affairs, agriculture, consumer affairs, food and public distribution.

The floods in July and August had affected 88 lakh people in 31 districts.

Around 254 people had died and 3.65 lakh hectares of agricultural land had suffered extensive damage.