Flood situation remains grim
nGUWAHATI/PATNA: The flood situation in Assam improved marginally on Tuesday with rainfall easing even as it threatened to worsen in Bihar with many rivers continuing to flow about the danger level.
Bihar’s Darbhanga has been ravaged by Khiro and Bagmati rivers for the past week in the wake of rains in the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal and a swollen Adhwara set a new highest flood level (HFL) of 48.5 metre after 35 years.
The water resources department (WRD) has alerted the officials of Kishanganj, Purnia and Katihar districts after the river Mahananda witnessed an upsurge of almost two metres at Taiyabpur in Kishangan on Tuesday forenoon. “The spurt in water level of Mahananda was attributed to heavy rains in Nepal,” said WRD secretary Sanjiv Hans.
Burhi Gandak has already flooded parts of Muzaffarpur, Khagaria and Samastipur and Kosi is also flowing above the danger mark.
Flood situation in North Bihar region may deteriorate further as the meteorological department has forecast moderate to heavy rains in Nepal and the catchment areas of different rivers
According to a bulletin by Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the number of districts affected by floods dropped from 28 two weeks ago to 21. There has also been a significant drop in the number of people affected by floods in the state; the number, which had risen to 40 lakh ten days ago, is down to nearly 20 lakh people now.
Over 42,000 people displaced by floods are taking shelter in 236 relief camps in 16 of the affected districts. Nearly 1 lakh hectare crop area continues to be inundated, said the ASDMA bulletin.
“Rainfall has eased in the past few days and flood waters are drying in most places...,” said Pankaj Chakraborty, state project coordinator, ASDMA.
COUPLE MOWED DOWN
A couple, staying at a makeshift shelter on a roadside along DarbhangaJayinagar National Highway-527 B at Koyla Asthan village under Bihar’s Keoti block due to floods, was crushed to death in sleep by a speeding pick up van on Tuesday morning.