Flood situation worsens in Bihar, nearly 25 lakh hit
Many rivers flow above danger mark
The flood situation worsened in Bihar with major rivers flowing above the danger mark and water entering new areas of the 11 affected districts, cumulatively impacting nearly 24.5 lakh people
A Bihar government bulletin said the floodwaters spread to new areas in the 11 affected districts, hitting one million more population, even though no fresh death was reported and the toll remained at 10.
The latest bulletin said a total of 24.42 lakh people have been hit by floods in 765 panchayats of 93 blocks of 11 districts with Darbhanga being the worst-hit, where 8.87 lakh people have been displaced in its 14 blocks.
As many as 25 teams of NDRF and SDRF are engaged in relief and rescue operations in the flood-affected region of the state. The government has also deployed Indian Air Force helicopters to provide relief to people who have been living in makeshift shelters.
“Lakhs of people have been affected due to heavy rains and flood in several districts of the state. IAF choppers are being used to drop food packets and other relief materials in the affected regions of the state,” officials monitoring relief and rescue operations said.
The major cause of concern for the state government has been five rivers — Kamala Balan, Kosi,
Bagmati, and Gandak. Sources said that water level in river Ganga too is gradually increasing. The worst affected districts in Bihar have been West Champaran, Gopalganj, Darbhanga, Supaul, Samastipur and Muzaffarpur.
Officials said that the state government has set up more than 400 community kitchens and several relief camps in the affected areas. “Community kitchens are providing food to more than 1.5 Lakh people and around 14 thousand have been kept in the relief camps which has been set up in the flood-affected areas”.
Concerned over the surge in flood scenario the state has directed district magistrates to purchase boats and use drones to locate and rescue people who are stuck in the affected region.