Bihar CM Nitish Kumar says water levels have reduced after floods, impact still visible

Even though the water level of river Ganga has started receding in flood-hit areas of Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Tuesday that the impact of the flooding is still very much visible. The CM said, "Water level of the river Ganga has reduced now but its impact can still be seen in nearby areas." He added that he is monitoring the situation closely. He continued, "I've directed the concerned authorities to undertake relief work and provide necessary aid in flood-affected areas." The CM took an aerial survey of the flood affected regions to stock the situation. He monitored the regions of Khagaria and Bhagalpur.

Current situation in Bihar

Officials from Bihar have reported that 15 districts have been adversely affected due to the flooding and has directly caused trouble to 2.7 million people. At least 26 locations across Bihar have crossed the dangerous mark for the river levels, including the Ganges River in Bhagalpur and Patna Districts. Last week, seven rivers in Bihar were confirmed to have hovered above the danger mark spread across 15 locations. The situation has not improved during the previous seven days, and the Disaster Management Department in Bihar reported the floods have affected 2,176 villages has caused the lives of 12 people.

With the help of both teams from the State and National Disaster Response Forces (NDRF), more than 85,000 have been moved from flooded homes to safer areas. With the help of boats, the NDRF team rescued a victim stuck on the roof of his house for two days. The NDRF has distributed the relief supplies, and the state has helped the people by placing community kitchens to supply meals to thousands of the victims. At least 22,000 people have been who had moved to relief camps set up by state authorities.

The districts affected by the floods are Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Khagaria, Saharsa, Patna, Vaishali, Bhojpur, Lakhisarai, Bhagalpur, Saran, Buxar, Begusarai, Katihar, Munger and Samastipur. On August 16, the Ganges River reached record levels in Bhagalpur at 34.75 metres as the previous high was 34.72 metres in 2016. In Patna’s Hathidah District, the Ganges stood at 43.54 metres, overcoming the last high of 43.17 metres observed in 2016.

Image Credit: ANI