Ganga above danger level: Hundreds of houses on banks flooded in Patna

An official from the water resources department said Ganga maintained the rising trend across its course in Bihar on Saturday and is likely to set a new highest flood level (HFL) at Hathidah by Sunday if the current trend was any indication.

Floodwaters from Ganga in spate have entered houses and apartments built between the southern bank of Ganga and the Patna protection wall, forcing residents to shift to the upper floors or relocate at safer places.

A view of a flooded area in Patna’s Danapur on Saturday. (Santosh Kumar/Ht Photo)

Hundreds of apartments and private houses have been built on the bank of the river and within the safety protection wall in violation of the standard safety norms.

An official from the water resources department said Ganga maintained the rising trend across its course in Bihar on Saturday and is likely to set a new highest flood level (HFL) at Hathidah by Sunday if the current trend was any indication.

In Buxar, however, the pace of rise in water level of the river has decreased vis-à-vis Friday, though it continued to flow 82 cm above the danger level (DL) of 60.32 metres. Buxar has the HFL of 62.09, recorded in 1948, when the entire town was submerged with floodwaters.

Officials said the flood situation in the districts crisscrossed by Ganga and its other tributaries from Nepal might deteriorate, as the local meteorological office has predicted heavy downpour in almost all districts of north and central Bihar over the next 48 hours.

A Central Water Commission (CWC) report said Ganga was flowing 83 cm above the DL of 50.45 m at Digha Ghat and 1.77 m above DL of 48.60 m at Gandhi Ghat, all in Patna.

The river was flowing at 32.30 m against the DL of 31.09 m at Kahalgaon and approaching the HFL of 32.82 m, which was set in the year 2017.