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Over 4 lakh people have been affected by floods in northern Bihar as the Lakhandei river breaches its embankments at two places in Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur districts. Nearly 25,000 people have been rendered homeless
The flood situation in north Bihar is worsening with major rivers like the Kosi, Gandak, Budhi and Bagmati in spate following heavy rains in their catchment areas, in Nepal. Water levels in the rivers have been rising to dangerous levels for the last four to five days, say senior state officials. Only about a year ago, more than 3 million people were rendered homeless when the Kosi river breached its banks upstream in Nepal and changed course in August 2008, flooding large tracts of land. Today, over 4 lakh people have been affected by the Lakhandei river breaching its embankments at two places, worsening an already bad situation in Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur districts. The Lakhandei, swelled by the swirling flood waters of a turbulent Bagmati river, breached its embankments on a stretch of over 200 metres near Tilak Tajpur in Sitamarhi district early on Monday, says Tirhut Divisional Commissioner S M Raju. The water also destroyed embankments at Baraitha Masjid and an area in Katra block, Muzaffarpur district late Sunday evening. According to Raju, flood waters have submerged around 75 villages in Katra, Gaighat and Bandara blocks in Sitamarhi district, affecting a population of over 3 lakh. Engineers and labourers are working round-the-clock to plug the breaches. Meanwhile, a report quoting official sources says rescue teams from Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the Border Security Force (BSF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are carrying out rescue operations on a war footing. Nearly 25,000 people who were rendered homeless have so far taken shelter in makeshift camps, the report adds. Indeed, the embankments are now crowded with displaced people and the state administration is arranging for food, says the report. During the Kosi deluge last year, people were reluctant to leave their homes; this is not the case now, say officials. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has already ordered a joint inquiry by the Tirhut Divisional Commission and DIG (Muzaffarpur) into the causes leading to the Bagmati breaches, said each affected family would be provided one quintal of foodgrain and Rs 2,000 from the state’s calamity relief fund. According to the state flood control room in Patna, water levels in the Bagmati are above the danger mark at some points along its course in north Bihar, while the Gandak is rising too following discharge from Nepal. National Highway 77 was under two feet of water at Kauahi village, disrupting traffic between Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi. Source: The Indian Express, August 3, 2009
The Hindu, August 3, 2009
PTI, July 2, 2009
IANS, July 2, 2009
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