Flood threat looms large in Patna, other districts as Ganga rises

The rising trend of Ganga due to the incessant rains in its catchment areas is posing threat to flood the capital city. The river is flowing about 90 cm above the danger mark in Patna and 61cm at Buxar.

Ganga and its major tributaries like Punpun and Burhi Gandak have already started engulfed the low-lying areas in their banks and threatening to overtop or breach the safety embankments in Bhojpur, Saran, Sitamarhi and Muzaffapur districts.

In view of the met department’s prediction of very heavy rains, officials of water resources department (WRD) and disaster management department (DMD) have heightened their surveillance in the districts along the Ganga and other swollen rivers in different parts of the state.

The DMD has already deployed more than 1000 boats in 11 districts affected due to the second round of flooding to ferry the marooned people.

About 15 lakh people of more than 350 panchayats have been facing the devastation of floods mainly due to the surge in Ganga, Burhi Gandak and Punpun. Besides Patna, other districts reeling under the floods are Buxar, Bhojpur, Samastipur, Lakhisarai, Begusarai, Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Munger and Saran.

Construction of Ara-Buxar road has been stopped at various spots as the floodwater from Ganga had overtopped it, affecting the vehicular traffic badly.

More than 6,000 people have left their homes after water level in the Ganga and other rivers surged due to torrential rains in the state for the last couple of days in Bhagalpur. The road communication remained paralysed in several stretches of the National Highway-80 between Kahalgaon and district headquarters.

Addressing a press conference, Bhagalpur district magistrate Pranav Kumar said rescue teams had been deployed in affected areas and arrangements were being made to ensure food and treatment to the people living in relief camps. A total 13 relief camps and 26 community kitchens have been started, he said.

The DMD officials said that 14 units of the National Disaster Response Force and 12 units of the State Disaster Response Force have been deployed in different areas of the state to carry out rescue and relief operations along with those of the district administration.

(With inputs from Avijit Biswas)