The Centre has agreed to Bihar's demand for deputation of National Disaster Response Force teams at four strategic points in the state to fight floods in the monsoon.

While the state government had asked for five National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, the Centre has sanctioned four for Bihar. A team each would be deputed in Supaul, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur and Gopalganj districts.

"After the Centre's clearance for four NDRF teams, we want to depute the trained personnel in the field once monsoon breaks in the state," principal secretary, disaster management, Vyasji said on Sunday.

Each NDRF team comprises 45 personnel, including divers, paramedics, motorboat drivers and other support staff. All the members have medical first-responder training so that they can provide basic medication to victims in need in wake of any natural disaster. Each team has six inflatable motorboats to reach out to the flooded areas.

The government had planned to depute two teams in Supaul because the Kosi region faces the maximum threat of floods caused by rivers that originate in Nepal.

Bihar had placed the request for the deputation of NDRF teams in May after the threat of a possible flash flood in the Gandak following a landslide in Kali Gandaki river of Nepal, which feeds water to the Gandak's mainstream flowing through Bihar. The landslide had occurred at Myagri district in Nepal in the third week of May.

Although the flash flood never came, sources said the government was not willing to leave anything to chance. Most of the north Bihar districts are inundated by rivers that have their origin in Nepal, prominent among them being the Kosi, Gandak, Bagmati and Adhwara.

Experts in the water resources department are apprehending that since the April temblor, the hilly terrains of Nepal have become fragile and during monsoon, the chances of massive landslides and flash floods cannot be ruled out.

Even though the water resources minister, Vijay Chaudhary, maintained there was no immediate threat of flood in Bihar, the department is keeping a close eye on the rivers and embankments. "All our field officials have been put on alert and special vigil is being maintained," Chaudhary said.

Amid the flood-fighting preparations, the government is set to notify the whole state disaster-hit as well, to provide relief to farmers who have taken loans from banks and are facing difficulties in paying back the credit because of damage to standing crops because of unseasonal rain, hailstorm and cyclones. According to official records, crops spread over 18,82,040 hectares have been hit this year.

"We had requested the banks to reschedule loan repayment but we got a feedback that any such step can be taken only after the state is declared disaster-hit. As crop damage was spread across all the 38 districts, a decision to declare the entire state disaster-hit was taken on Saturday," a senior official said, adding that the file has been sent to the chief secretary for nod of the chief minister.

On the kind of relief farmers could expect from the banks, the official said apart from getting additional time to repay loans, banks would also defer the collection of loan repayment by a few months. "Normally banks defer the loan repayment till the harvesting time of the next cropping season," said the official.