Rain or Shine...

THE MONSOON in India has so far killed 131 people and left almost five million homeless in the eastern state of Bihar alone, officials said yesterday.

Floods destroyed 2,755 villages in north Bihar and ruined crops on 152,500 hectares. Villages on the Nepal border have been worst hit because most of Bihar's rivers originate in the Himalayan kingdom.

Officials said 16,547 rescued people had been taken to some of the state's 201 relief camps.