More rain predicted in Bihar as death toll due to floods touches 78

The death toll in the ongoing floods, which have hit 12 districts of Bihar, went up to 78 on Thursday. The weather bureau has predicted more rains in many parts of the state in the next few days.

More than 55 lakh people of Sheohar, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, Madhubani, Araria, Kishanganj, Supaul, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Saharsa, Katihar and Purnia districts remain affected, as the state government continued with its relief efforts.

A total of 97 blocks, comprising 921 panchayats, have been badly hit by the floods.

Pratyaya Amrit, principal secretary of disaster management, said the state disaster management department has set up 130 relief camps.

“1,13,721 people have taken shelter in the relief camps and 1,119 community kitchens have been set up for them,” Amrit said.

Amrit also said that 26 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), comprising 796 personnel, have been deployed to provide relief to people.

Sitamarhi remains the worst affected district. The state disaster management department said that an estimated 17 lakh people in 176 panchayats were affected by the floods in Sitamarhi alone. 1,10,000 people have taken shelter across 126 relief camps in the district.

Water Resource Department (WRD) officials said that with the closing of 28 sluice gates on Kosi barrage, the flood situation had eased in Supaul and Araria.

The low-lying areas in Muzaffarpur have, however, become vulnerable to flood, owing to discharge of water in Gandak from the Valmiki barrage.

The Budhi Gandak river has inundated many low-lying areas in the commercial capital of Bihar.

WRD executive engineer Shabbir Ahmad said that the level of Budhi Gandak had risen and water had spilled over to low-lying areas of Muzaffarpur. However, the water level in the river is yet to touch danger mark in Sikandarpur in Muzaffarpur town.

Ahmad said people residing along the embankment have been asked to move to safer places.

Reports of leakage of river water from the sluice gates of Sikandarpur in town and Rajwara in Mushahri have created a panic situation.

Muzaffarpur district magistrate Alok Ranjan Ghosh said the leakage was being repaired and the water in Bagmati river was receding.

Rain forecast released by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said that East Champaran, Katihar, Khagaria, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Purnia, Sheohar, Sitamarhi and Supaul are set to receive rainfall from July 21 to 23.