Nearly 50 Lakh People Hit by Floods in 15 Bihar Districts as Rivers Swell

Nearly 49.67 lakh people across 15 districts of Bihar have been affected by floods as heavy rainfall and rising water levels in several rivers continued to pose a challenge to the state administration, officials said on Monday.

The state recorded 112.7 mm of rainfall in September so far, around six per cent above normal, according to the local weather office. Officials said incessant rain in the catchment areas of rivers flowing from Nepal into Bihar, along with heavy rainfall within the state, had caused several rivers and streams to cross their danger marks.

The affected districts include Patna, Bhojpur, Saran, Vaishali, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Buxar, Samastipur, Munger, Katihar, Lakhisarai, Khagaria, Purnea, Madhepura and Araria.

The Ganga was flowing at 36.19 metres at Sultanganj in Bhagalpur at 6 pm, 1.69 metres above the danger level. The Kosi was above the danger mark at Baltara and Kursela, while the Budhi Gandak crossed the mark at Khagaria. The Ganga was also above the danger level at Digha, Gandhi Ghat, Hathidah, Bhagalpur, Kahalgaon and Munger. The Punpun, Bagmati and Ghaghara were also flowing above their respective danger levels at monitoring points.

The administration has set up 1,248 community kitchens and 13 relief camps, with arrangements for food, accommodation, medical care and other essentials for around 11,508 people.

Water discharge at the Gandak barrage in Valmiki Nagar stood at 1.09 lakh cusecs at 4 pm and was rising. The Kosi Barrage at Birpur recorded 1,63,315 cusecs, compared with this year's peak of 2,55,425 cusecs on July 20.

For rescue and relief operations, 27 SDRF teams and 10 NDRF teams have been deployed across affected districts.

Meanwhile, Bihar Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav accused the Centre of discriminating against the state in flood relief. He alleged that Bihar had suffered deaths, livestock losses and extensive damage, and claimed that neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Home Minister Amit Shah had announced relief for the state.