Several rivers in Bihar and other parts of India are flowing in a severe situation, well above their danger levels.
Heavy rain warning for the next 48 hours has been issued in Bihar as the state continues to be inundated in floods triggered by heavy downpour, while the death toll due to rain-related incidents jumped to 73. An orange alert has been issued in Patna, one of the worst-hit regions in the state, along with Vaishali, Begusarai and Khagaria, for October 3-4. This brings a total of 15 flood warning alerts in Bihar and 21 across India.
Pratyaya Amrit, Principal Secretary of Disaster Management Department in Bihar said, "According to yesterday's estimates, 73 people died and 9 injured due to flood. The pump that we brought from Coal India had technical issues, if it starts working today we'll clear water from Rajendra Nagar."
A report by the Government of India's Central Water Commission Flood Forecast Monitoring Directorate said that many rivers in Bihar and other parts of India are flowing in a severe situation. The Control Room, in its statement, detailed that the River Dhansari (South) at Numaligarh in Golaghat district of Assam continues to flow in a severe situation at 6 AM, well above its danger level of 77.42 m.
Rivers Bagmati at Runisaidpur in Sitamarhi district and Burhi Gandak at Khagaria in Khangaria district of Bihar were also flowing in a severe situation at 6 AM, well above their danger levels.
According to a statement issued by the State Disaster Management Department, Bihar, at least 17.09 lakh people have been affected by floods.
Meanwhile, Patna's Pataliputra colony and Rajendra Nagar continue to reel under the impact of the flood.
The Meteorological Department has issued an alert for rain in Nalanda, Gaya, Patna, Vaishali, Saran, Khagaria, Begusarai, Lakhisarai districts for today. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that all pumping sets in Patna are operational now and the water will soon be drained out. He added that the government will start working on the drainage system of Patna once the water is pumped out.
Kumar also claimed that climate change has caused floods in Patna. "There were flash floods in 12-13 districts in July this year. Later, the water level in Ganga rose. Now, sudden heavy rainfall has flooded many areas in Patna," Kumar said at a programme here. This came after a day when faced with stiff protests, he lost his cool at journalists and said floods are happening in other parts of India and in the US as well.
Meanwhile, the Patna Municipal Corporation continued its efforts to drain water from the city. Municipal engineer Manoj Kumar told that all the pumps to drain out water have been installed. "The situation here is fine. There is now the danger of epidemic in waterlogged areas. Bleaching powder is being sprayed throughout those areas and drains are being cleared."
On the other hand, anger grew among flood victims and displaced people in Katihar, Danapur and Munger against the administration. Protestors jammed the main Herudiara road in Munger and burned tires on the streets and shouted slogans against the district administration.
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