The flood situation in Bihar has deteriorated alarmingly on Monday, with the embankments of the Kosi and Bagmati rivers succumbing to the relentless monsoon rains.
In Darbhanga district, the Kosi River overflowed late on Sunday, breaching its banks near the Kartarpur block and inundating local villages, including Kirtarpur and Ghanshyampur.
Meanwhile, in Sitamarhi district, seepage from the Bagmati river's embankment in Runni Saidpur has exacerbated the situation.
"The flood situation has worsened with fresh embankment breaches but it is under control. There is nothing to panic," reassured a government official amidst rising concerns.
Despite the chaos, state authorities are responding swiftly. Bihar's Water Resources Minister, Vijay Kumar Choudhary, confirmed that six incidents of embankment breaches have been documented across the state, with repairs already underway on several of them.
The embankments of both the Bagmati River, particularly at Madhkaul village in Sitamarhi, and the Gandak River in West Champaran suffered significant damage due to excessive water pressure. This resulted in flooding within the Valmiki Tiger Reserve, an area renowned for its biodiversity.
“Water flowing above the embankments was reported from Valmikinagar and Kiratpur in Darbhanga. But now the water level in several rivers has started receding. No casualty has been reported so far in Bihar due to the flood,” the minister added, attempting to assuage public fears.
In a bid to bolster relief efforts in the affected regions of northern Bihar, the government has deployed an additional six teams from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDRF), supplementing the existing 12 teams already on the ground.
Alongside these, 22 teams from the State Disaster Management Authority (SDRF) are actively engaged in rescue and relief operations across the most impacted districts.
According to a statement from the disaster management department, “Despite water levels receding in several small rivers, the overall situation remains grim with over 16 lakh people affected by the deluge. No fatality has been reported so far.”
The government has sounded a flood alert for various regions in northern, southern, and central Bihar, following the heavy discharge of water from the Birpur and Valmikinagar barrages over the weekend.
However, officials reported a reduction in water discharge from both barrages by Monday morning, alleviating some immediate concerns.
On Sunday, water discharge through the Valmikinagar barrage reached a staggering 5.62 lakh cusecs, while by 8 am on Monday, it had dropped to 1.89 lakh cusecs.
Similarly, discharge from the Birpur barrage decreased from 6.61 lakh cusecs on September 29 to 2.88 lakh cusecs by Monday morning.
The districts facing the brunt of the floods include West and East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Patna, Jehanabad, Madhubani, Araria, Purnea, Katihar, and Bhojpur.
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