Rising Ganga inundates villages across state
PATNA/ARA: Floodwaters have entered hundreds of villages located near the banks of River Ganga, which continued to flow above the danger level (DL) on its course from Buxar to Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur on Monday.
Locals’ miseries in state capital Patna have burgeoned further, as gushing currents of rivers Sone and Punpun engulfed fresh areas of diara and low-lying villages along its course. Hundreds of families of Nakta diara and Bindtoli in Patna have already shifted to safer places after their houses were completely submerged with floodwaters of Ganga.
A senior officer of water resources department said those living along the banks of Ganga have been asked to evacuate fast, as the river has been maintaining a rising trend. Ganga was reported flowing around one metre above the DL at Gandhi Ghat in Patna, 33cm above DL at Buxar, 88cm at Hathidah and 73cm at Kahalgaon. Punpun was flowing around 50cm above the DL at Sripalpur. Sone was flowing above the DL at Maner.
In Bhojpur district, dozens of villages have been disconnected from the district headquarters, as floodwaters from Ganga and Sone inundated a vast stretch of land. Standing crops and vegetables on the land along the rivers have also been washed away.
The rising water from Ganga is also threatening to disrupt traffic on Ara-Buxar road, which is barely a few feet above the turbulent water.
Executive engineer of Ara flood control department, Shambhu Kumar, said that the DL of Ganges is 53.08m, but on Monday, it reached up to 53.78m. “River Ganga has crossed the DL. The department and administration is keeping a strict watch,” he said.
The floodwaters have also started to reach dozens of villages spread over Barhara, Shahpur, Ara, Udwantnagar, Bihiya and Koilwar blocks, with Barhara block being the worst affected. Barhara CO Ram Bachan Ram said three boats have been pressed into service in the affected areas.