Opinion Forty Years Ago: Patna Floods

This are the events what happened on August 25, forty years ago.

August 25, 2015 12:04 AM IST First published on: Aug 25, 2015 at 12:04 AM IST

The rising Ganga threatened to flood Patna while the towns of Danapur, Chhapra, Monghyr, Barahiya and the industrial complex of Barauni and Begusarai were already inundated with flood waters. Patna was facing threats from both its western and eastern sides from the rising Ganga and Sone.

Indira to NBC

PM Indira Gandhi, in an interview to the National Broadcasting Company, said the Supreme Court had the authority to decide on the legality of the constitutional amendment that placed beyond challenge in courts the election of the PM to Parliament. “The Supreme Court does have the right to decide [this]. But… here the essence of parliamentary democracy does make Parliament supreme so far as all executive action is concerned,” she told the US public broadcaster. When asked if she would respect the apex court ruling if it deemed the amendment illegal, she said it was a hypothetical question and refused to comment.

Laos Turns Red

Pro-communist group Pathet Lao announced it had seized power in the kingdom of Laos and had established a revolutionary government, the New China News Agency reported. The takeover was the culmination of a gradual regime change over the past four months.

Crisis In Colombo

The Trotskyite Lanka Sama Samaja Party, led by Finance Minister N.M. Perera, left the Sirimavo Bandaranaike government in Colombo. The party rejected Bandaranaike’s offer of alternative portfolios to its ministers.

Zia Rises

Major General Ziaur Rahman “Bir Uttom” was appointed chief of army staff in place of Major General K.M. Shaflullah. The government also lifted the curfew in the country.