Orissa struggles with heavy floods

The authorities in Orissa state, in eastern India, say more than three million people have been affected by floods set off by a week of heavy rain.

More than 20 people have been killed in the past four days.

The state's development commissioner, Srinivas Rath, told the BBC that his government had sought the help of the armed forces to evacuate thousands of marooned villagers across the state.

He said naval boats loaded with relief material had already been put into service in coastal villages near the capital, Bhubaneshwar.

Orissa has had a third of the year's average rainfall in just one week.

The rain fell after a long dry-spell that had led to drought in as many as twenty-eight of the state's districts last summer.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service