Patna: Several districts in Bihar are facing a flood-like situation as most rivers, including the Ganga, are flowing above danger marks following heavy rainfall in Nepal and neighbouring Jharkhand, officials said.
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas and reviewed relief and rescue operations.
He directed officials to identify affected families, ensure timely relief and continuously monitor vulnerable areas and Ganga embankments from Buxar to Bhagalpur to prevent erosion and breaches.
He also directed officials to ensure uninterrupted functioning of relief camps and community kitchens, timely distribution of relief materials and continuous monitoring of the flood situation.
He directed that the command centre be linked directly with the CM Dashboard for regular monitoring of relief and rescue operations.
The government has deployed 27 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and nine NDRF teams in flood-hit areas.
The Sone and Ganga rivers are expected to show a declining trend, and there is no likelihood of heavy rainfall in the state over the coming week, officials said.
Several low-lying areas of Patna, Vaishali, Bhojpur, Bhagalpur, Khagaria, Purnea, Madhepura, Saharsa and Katihar have been affected by the rising water levels, they said.
No casualties have been reported so far, and people living in river floodplains have been moved to safety, they added.
The Ganga is flowing above the danger mark at several locations in Patna, including Digha Ghat, Gandhi Ghat, Hathidah and Maner, as well as in Buxar, Munger, Bhagalpur and Kahalgaon.
The Punpun has crossed the danger mark at Sripalpur and Punpun, while the Ghaghra is above the mark at Darauli in Siwan.
According to the Disaster Management Department, floods have affected around 5,000 people in Raghopur panchayat of Bhagalpur's Kharik block, 2.84 lakh people across four blocks in Bhojpur, 2.32 lakh across nine blocks in Patna, 20,000 across five blocks in Saran and 85,000 across three blocks in Vaishali.
Water has also spread into low-lying areas of several other districts, affecting around 32,000 people in Arwal, 10,000 in Buxar, 21,700 in Begusarai, 11,800 in Samastipur, 8,500 in Khagaria, 38,000 in Munger and 36,000 in Katihar.
District administrations are operating 693 boats across 18 flood-affected districts, while 1,764 dry-ration packets have been distributed.
The state received 52.7 mm of rainfall in September so far, 93 per cent above normal, according to the Bihar Meteorological Service Centre.
The Disaster Management Department said around 1.26 lakh cusecs of water was released from the Gandak Barrage at Valmikinagar at 4 pm on Friday.
The Kosi recorded a discharge of 1.91 lakh cusecs at the Birpur Barrage, while 5.23 lakh cusecs were discharged from the Sone river at the Indrapuri Barrage at the same time.
Bihar Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit inspected the State Emergency Operations Centre and reviewed its functioning.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin said the government was making preparations to tackle the recurring flood problem and that Choudhary was personally overseeing the situation.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav visited flood-affected areas of his constituency Raghopur in Vaishali.
He urged the government to provide sufficient boats and take permanent measures to protect Raghopur from recurring floods whenever the Ganga rises.
