Floods ravage Bihar, Assam; rain causes landslips in Sikkim

Floods caused due to heavy rainfall continue to wreak havoc in districts of Assam and Bihar while incessant rainfall in remote villages of North Sikkim has caused landslides cutting them off from other parts of the state.

Floods have ravaged 27 out of 33 districts, affected more than 2.6 million people and displaced a population of 47,772, which has taken shelter in 564 relief camps across the state, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority ’s daily flood report released on Saturday.

In Raha area of Nagaon district of Assam, several schools, water supply project and other government buildings have been submerged in the floodwaters, officials said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers on Saturday carried out relief operations in three of Bihar’s worst affected districts—Darbhanga, Gopalganj and East Champaran. Besides the three major districts like Gopalganj, East Champaran and Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Supaul, Kishanganj, Muzaffarpur, West Champaran and Khagaria are also facing the devastation due to floods of various scales, officials said.

The Bihar Disaster Management Department Authority (BDMDA) principal secretary Pratyaya Amrit on Saturday said that around 10 lakh people have been affected due to the floods in the state and the Darbhanga district is the worst affected. He added that there has been a slight reduction in the water levels across the state and around one lakh people have been evacuated.

Deputy chief minister Sushil Modi said that each flood-affected person would be given Rs 6,000 each as relief from the government. “Compensation for loss of standing crops would be announced after the assessment. Farmers would be provided seeds for alternative crops to offset the losses,” said Modi.

Over half a dozen monuments, heritage sites and ancient temples, located in flood affected districts in northern part of the state, have been inundated by flood water. The Ashokan pillar at Lauria in West Champaran, the Buddhist stupa at Kesaria in East Champaran and the remains of the fortification of ancient ruler Raja Bali at Balirajgarh in Madhubani district have been inundated, officials said.

HS Naik, superintending archaeologist of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Patna circle, said the ASI has taken the matter seriously. “Soon after the flood water recedes from Champaran and Kesaria stupa site, we will send our engineer to assess the damage and also to draft the strategies to keep the monuments and sites safe,” he said.

Meteorologist Ravindra Kumar said, “Bihar is likely to receive heavy rains after July 26. Widespread rain with greater intensity is likely to hit entire Bihar on July 27 and 28. A yellow category warning for heavy to very heavy rain coupled with thunderstorm and lightning has been issued for North Bihar and several parts of south-western districts.”

Separately, an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter on Saturday airlifted essential commodities for the people of two remote villages in North Sikkim, which are cut off from other parts of the state due to landslides, an official release said.

The MI-17 helicopter carried out three sorties and dropped essential supplies comprising 100 bags of rice weighing 50 quintals each, 550 litres of cooking oil, 1.5 quintals of salt, 100 packets of candles and matches and medicines among others for the people of Sakyong and Pentong villages of North Sikkim, the release said.

The two villages are cut-off from the nearest town Dzongu since July 10 last as multiple landslides had washed off roads and bridges connecting these villages due to incessant rainfall.

(with inputs from agencies)