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Severe floods have ravaged hundreds of villages in Bihar. And the situation is expected to worsen with rising water levels in most rivers in the state
Over 3 lakh people have been severely affected by floods in nearly 500 villages in Bihar's Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Bhagalpur districts. The flood situation, triggered by torrential rains, remains bleak with most of the state's rivers, including the Ganga, Bagmati, Gandak, Burhi Gandak and Kamala Balan, flowing above the danger mark on July 15, 2006.
Officials say nearly 500 villages have been flooded and several dams and embankments damaged.
Waters of the Burhi Gandak and Bagmati submerged the national highway near Aurai in Muzaffarpur. Road traffic on many other national highways remained paralysed as floodwaters rose to over 4 feet.
State disaster management department control room sources have confirmed that at least 11 people have died in the floods so far. Five people are said to have drowned in Muzaffarpur and six in Bhagalpur and Sitamarhi districts.
Floods brought on by heavy rains also affected parts of Patna, Sheikpura, Begusarai and Nalanda districts.
Rain and sewage water entering homes was reported from several residential areas in the state capital Patna where people complained that nothing was being done to drain out the water. Several wards at the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital were also under water, while waterlogging was reported at Patna railway station's Dak Bungalow crossing and Gandhi Maidan.
The flood situation is likely to be aggravated by continuing heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of rivers originating from Nepal and flowing into the state's plains.
The control room also reports that district authorities have not yet sent out official information about relief and rescue operations being carried out.
A bulletin issued by the state water resources department, quoting the Central Water Commission, said the Bagmati continued to flow 67 cm above the danger mark at Benibad. The river Punpun was flowing just 4 cm below the danger mark at Sripalpur. While other rivers like the Burhi Gandak, Kosi and Adwara were flowing below the danger mark, their levels were steadily rising.
According to the central flood control room, the embankments of the Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Kamala Balan, Bhutahi Balan, Kosi and Chandan remain intact.
Meanwhile, the joint secretary of the Union home ministry in charge of disaster management, Navin Verma, held a meeting with state government officials, where he stressed the need to strengthen early-warning systems in flood-prone areas. Verma also suggested that a meeting be held in Delhi to work out the details of areas at maximum risk from rising river levels. He asked the state government to come up with a module, and discussed assistance under the United Nations Development Programme for tackling floods.
Source: Hindustan Times, July 13, 2006
The Hindu, July 13, 2006
www.ndtv.com, July 12, 2006
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