Families rendered homeless by turbulent river in W Champaran’s Mainatand

Thrown together by circumstances beyond control and taking shelter on roads and barren lands, a bleak future continues to stare as many as 22 families rendered homeless after turbulent Maniyari river uprooted their houses under Damarapur panchayat in Mainatand block of West Champaran early this week

Thrown together by circumstances beyond control and taking shelter on roads and barren lands, a bleak future continues to stare as many as 22 families rendered homeless after turbulent Maniyari river uprooted their houses under Damarapur panchayat in Mainatand block of West Champaran early this week.

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Speaking to HT on Saturday, one such village resident Amal Mandal, 50, said he hardly had the inkling about the fate his family of six had in store. It was late on Thursday night when Mandal and his family members were jolted out of sleep after a part of their house collapsed.

“We raised an alarm and many families rushed to a safer place with whatever household items we could lay our hands on,” said Mandal, a resident of Biranchi 3 in Mainatand block, while recalling the harrowing experience.

Much to their dismay, Mandal and many other village residents found no traces of their houses in the morning.

Sarpanch of Damarapur panchayat Hari Das claimed that residents of Biranchi 3 are facing threat of displacement for many years now, with around 200 families displaced due to floods since 1998 . “While houses of 15 families collapsed on Wednesday night, seven other houses were engulfed by the river the following day. We have been fighting against our destiny all these years, but nothing tangible has been done to save us,” said Das, also a resident of Biranchi 3.

Demanding compensation for the displaced families, former MLA from Sikta constituency Dilip Verma announced monetary help of ₹50,000. He also distributed relief material in the form of dry ration and plastic sheets, said some of the displaced village residents.

When contacted, Kumar Rajiv Ranjan, circle officer (CO), Mainatand confirmed that 15 houses were engulfed by the river. Dry ration and other relief material has also been distributed, he said, adding that a flood fighting team was carrying out repair works.

Sahila Heer, sub divisional magistrate (SDM), Narkatiaganj, said, “The administration is keeping a close tab and is prepared to meet any eventualities. The need for relief material has been necessitated in Biranchi 3 village,” the SDM said, adding that road connectivity in some areas has also been snapped.

However, local MLA and CPI (ML) leader Birendra Gupta said about half a dozen villages in Sikta block are totally disconnected from subdivisional headquarters. The villages are Magalahiya, Sonargawa, Mahesara, Kadama, Sonbarsa and Birayith, he said.