Anger after Bihar villagers shot

Large parts of Bihar has been affected

Angry villagers in the north-eastern Indian state of Bihar have blocked roads and railway tracks after two people were shot dead by police.

The deaths occurred when police opened fire on villagers protesting at what they said was unfair distribution of relief material for flood victims.

Bihar has been badly affected by monsoon floods which have devastated parts of South Asia.

More than 1,000 people have died and millions have been left homeless.

Police opened fire in Una village, some 185km north of the state capital, Patna, on Monday evening.

"The police had to resort to firing because the mob had attacked officers distributing relief material," local official, KP Ramaiya, is quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.

Reports say local residents are getting frustrated at the slow delivery of relief material, and allege discrimination in the distribution process.

Slow relief

This is the second time in recent weeks that police have opened fire on protesters complaining about the distribution of flood relief material.

Last month a man was shot dead by police during a similar protest in Vaishali district.

The Bihar state government has already allocated more than 100bn rupees ($2.2m) towards flood relief.

More financial help is likely to be announced by the federal authorities after a government team files its damage assessment report.

Nearly 600 people have died in Bihar alone because of the floods. Assam state was also badly hit.

In Bangladesh, flood waters covered 60% of the country and at least 600 people have died.