Gandak River Water Level Recedes But Bihar Flood Situation Remains Grim; 10L People Affected

Patna: The flood situation in Bihar remained grim on Tuesday, affecting over 10 lakh people in the state. Meanwhile, the water level of the Gandak river, which was in spate on Monday, receded. Bihar has been reeling under severe floods after flood-hit Nepal released 10.5 lakh cusecs of water from the Kosi and Gandak barrages. The floods have thrown normal life out of gear in the state.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday conducted an aerial survey to assess the flood situation in the state. CM Nitish Kumar was accompanied by Water Resources Minister Vijay Chaudhary during the assessment of flood situation.

Flood Disrupts Normal Life in Bihar

Severe waterlogging in several low-lying areas have prompted people to shift to safer places in the state. Visuals have emerged from several flood-hit areas, showing people wading through knee-deep water.

Earlier on Monday, reports of breaches in embankments from at least seven places across the state also kept the administration on its toes.

The affected districts in the state include West and East Champaran, Araria, Kishanganj, Gopalganj, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Supaul, Siwan, Madhepura, Muzaffarpur, Purnea, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Saran and Saharsa.

The Kosi river was in spate and breached its embankment near Kartarpur block, inundating Kirtarpur and Ghanshyampur villages in Darbhanga late on Sunday, while seepage was reported in the embankment of Bagmati river in Runni Saidpur block in Sitamarhi district, officials of the state water resources department said.

The Gandak river's embankment in West Champaran was damaged due to excessive water pressure, resulting in inundation in the Valmiki Tiger Reserve and surrounding areas, another official said.

Six more teams of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDRF) from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Ranchi in Jharkhand were deployed in the affected areas.

The Bihar government had sounded an alert for floods in northern, southern and central parts of the state, following heavy discharge of water from Birpur and Valmikinagar barrages on Saturday and Sunday.

(With PTI inputs)