Floods in Bihar: Government prepares to shift people to safer places

Due to incessant rains, many rivers in Bihar are in spate and there is a situation of floods in the state. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has forecasted heavy rains for the next two-three days, which may worsen the situation.

Heavy rains predicted

According to a press release issued by the Patna Meteorological Centre, the districts of North Bihar may receive heavy rains. "There is a possibility of heavy rain and thunderstorm in the next 72 hours from July 9 in the adjoining districts of Nepal and North Bihar of the state," the press release said. This may lead to loss of life and property, water logging, obstruction of traffic, disrupted electricity service and rise in the water level of the rivers.

Officials of Patna Meteorological Centre have informed that the rains will mainly impact the lowland areas of Nepal and the North and Central Bihar districts which includes West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Shivhar, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Saran, Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, Saharsa, Madhepura, Purnia, Kishanganj and Katihar.

Rivers above the danger mark

At several flood monitoring stations, Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla, Kosi and Mahanadi rivers are flowing above the danger mark due to heavy rains. The Gandak river is above the danger mark at Dumariaghat gauge station in Gopalganj. Similarly, the Bagmati river has risen above the danger mark at Dhang bridge of Sitamarhi. While the Kamala river is flowing above the danger mark in Madhubani's Jhanjharpur, Jayanagar, in Khagaria, Kosi is flowing above the danger mark.

Considering the heavy rains, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed the Water Resources Department, Disaster Management Department as well as the District Magistrates of all the districts to be on high alert.

Preparation towards the rescue efforts complete 

In wake of the flood situation due to increasing water level in the rivers, advanced preparations for rescue efforts are going on in many districts. According to officials from the Water Resources Department, there is preparedness to shift the people living in relief camps in case the water level rises in four blocks of Araria district, three blocks of Kishanganj affected by Mahananda river, six blocks of Katihar and Rupauli, Baisa, Bayesi and Amour in Purnia district affected by Kosi river and other low-lying areas .

Apart from this, seven panchayats of Aurai, Katra and Gaighat blocks of Muzaffarpur district, 12 panchayats of three blocks of Sitamarhi district and the population settled in low-lying areas within the river embankment of Shivhar, East and West Champaran will also be shifted elsewhere if the water level rises.

With water level rising in the Manushmara river in Runnisaidpur in Sitamarhi, flood water has entered half a dozen villages. Due to the heavy rains in the Terai region of Nepal, 1.15 lakh cusecs of water has been released into the Gandak river from Gandak Barrage in Balmikinagar which has led to a critical situation in West Champaran. DM Kundan Kumar has informed that 190 homeguards have been deployed to monitor the embankments. Apart from this, engineers have also been asked to patrol the embankments continuously.

Public cooperation needed

In case you notice any cracks or other problems in the embankments in your area, then call the

helpline number 18003456145

You can also report at Twitter by tagging

#HelloWRD, @WRD_Bihar

You can read the article in hindi here. Authored by Umesh Kumar Ray; Translation to english by Swati Bansal