Floods continue to ravage Bihar, Uttar Pradesh

The flood situation in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh continues to remain grim.

Patna/Gorakhpur (UP), Aug 4 : The flood situation in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh continues to remain grim.

About 10 million people have been displaced by incessant rains over the past fortnight across Bihar. Muzaffarpur is said to be the worst affected district.

Since Thursday evening, fresh floods have inundated nearly 300 villages, as many rivers overflowed above the danger mark.

All major rivers, including the Bagmati, the Burhi and the Gandak are in spate, and the Kamla Balan and Adwhara Group of rivers are flowing over two metres above the danger mark.

Bihar receives an average of 1,200 millimeters rainfall annually, but in most places, it has already received 500-700 mm of rainfall in July.

"We have got no help from the administration. We are facing problems living here, surrounded by water," said Raghunath Sahni, a flood victim in Darbhanga District.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has assured that relief material would be airdropped soon.

"Relief material will be dropped by helicopter to people in Darbhanga," Kumar told reporters in Patna.

Meanwhile, eight persons, mostly children, were drowned and seven others feared dead in a boat tragedy in Bihar on Friday.

The mishap occurred when a country boat carrying 30 passengers capsized in swollen Benti river in Samastipur District. While 15 people swam to safety, others are feared drowned. Eight bodies were fished out of the river.

The State Government has announced an ex-gratia of rupees one lakh to dependents of each of the dead victims.

All major rivers in Uttar Pradesh are in spate. The River Ganga is threatening several western districts.

The River Gagra is receding at Katrania Ghat and Elign Bridge while it continued to rise in Turtitar and Dohrighat.

River Raambati was receding in Balrampur, while in Gorakhpur it is still 1.71 centimetres above the danger mark.

About 200,000 people have been affected in Gorakhpur Division alone, where over 500 villages have been affected and 186 villages are marooned.

Meanwhile, the situation has improved in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

In Assam, the water of the River Brahmaputra and its tributes is receding. About half-a-million people in Assam have been affected in floods.

In Arunachal Pradesh, the water level in all major rivers is receding. However, both Lohit and Anjan Districts remain cut off from the rest of the country.

ANI