News Analysis India

Tag: Bihar floods

  • Tejashwi writes to Nitish, seeks appointment with PM Modi for all-party delegation on Bihar flood situation

    By ANI

    PATNA: Former Bihar Deputy CM of and leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav wrote a letter to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday urging him to seek an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a meeting with an all-party delegation from the state to apprise him about the damage caused to the state due to floods and excessive rain.

    “The Central Government had given clearance to only one project Koshi-Mechi but it is unfortunate that no work has begun so far,” wrote the leader alleging that both the state and central governments failed to prevent the huge losses caused by floods.

    “The floods in Bihar portray another familiar picture of the State’s vulnerability to recurrent flood and is a grim reminder of the extensive devastations destruction and disruption caused by floods. Crores of people are affected and crops worth billions of Rupees get damaged every year due to the floods in more than 20 districts of the state. Now, Bihar has a double-engine government and so many announcements were made, but no solutions have been found,” Yadav said.

    He also suggested to the Chief Minister in the letter, “The rivers that flow perennially and overflow during rain, such as Koshi, Bagmati, Gandak, Budhi Gandak, Kamla Balan, Ghagra, Mahananda, should be linked with the rivers with the lesser flow of water.”

    He named the districts that are worst affected by flood every year, which include Sitamadhi, Shivhar, Supaul, Kishanganj, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, East Champaran, West Champaran, Khagaria, Saran, Samastipur, Siwan, Madhubani, Madhepura, Saharsa, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Vaishali and Patna. He further said that the Central and the State governments have merely announced various schemes for flood relief but no efforts have been made on the ground in this regard.

    The leader reminded the Chief Minister of various projects that were announced during the NDA rule and unfortunately, these proposals were put in cold storage and nothing has happened on the ground.

    “The Mechi river will be interlinked with the Koshi river. In 2011, various River Linking Projects were also announced to link the Kamla Balan, Mahananda, Ghagra, and other rivers of the state through canals and barrages but nothing has been done so far,” he stated.

    “It is unfortunate that the work on linking the rivers is moving at snail pace and no work has been initiated in the 3 years of the only project that has been given the clearance” alleged Tejashwi.

    He accused the Central Government of not providing sufficient funds for flood relief in Bihar whereas the states that are less affected by the flood are allotted more funds. He referred to the ‘Double-Engine Government’ and alleged that no special package has been announced for Bihar.

    In the letter, Tejashwi also urged the Chief Minister to demand from the Central Government to declare all the projects of interlinking of rivers, construction of dams and canals as ‘National Plan

    The RJD leader said, “under your leadership, an all-party delegation from the state should meet the Prime Minister on this issue and request him to speed up the river-linking projects of Bihar, for the welfare of the State,” concluded Tejashwi.

  • Nitish says Bihar’s loss due to floods amounts to Rs 3.8 crore

    Express News Service

    PATNA:  The Bihar government has urged the Centre to release Rs 3,763.85 crore to carry out relief works in the aftermath of the statewide floods that claimed the lives of 53 people and affected over 52 lakh people in 24 districts.

    A six-member Central team returned to Delhi on Tuesday after a two-day visit to the state to take stock of the ground situation. 

    Chief minister Nitish Kumar said the government was providing all assistances to the victims and is committed to providing adequate crop compensation after the final assessment. 

    According to an official statement, the Bihar government had put forth a demand of Rs 3763.85 crore, including Rs 661.16 crore for agriculture, Rs 204.14 crore for road construction and Rs 1469.99 crore for the water resources departments.

    As per an initial report, more than 500 roads were damaged in the floods, besides many link roads.

    According to N Saravan Kumar, principal secretary of agriculture department, the flood damaged standing crops on 4,91,980 hectares, and the loss was pegged at Rs 667.94 crore in 24 districts under 2,588 panchayats as on September 7.

    According to officials, the Central team visited many flood-affected districts and reviewed the situation. Based on the assessment, the Centre would release funds. 

  • ‘Even the floods didn’t deter us’: Top Bihar official on state’s new COVID vaccination record

    Express News Service

    PATNA: Bihar has yet again set a record for single-day COVID-19 vaccinations. On Tuesday, the state health department inoculated over 27 lakh persons across Bihar including districts that were affected by the floods.

    In a mega vaccination drive launched to achieve the target of “six crore people in six months”, the health department has set up several vaccination sites across Bihar. Pratyay Amrit, additional chief secretary of health and the man behind this drive, spoke to The New Indian Express correspondent from Patna Rajesh Kumar Thakur. 

    Q. How was Bihar’s performance in the mega vaccination drive conducted on Tuesday?

    Pratyay Amrit (PA): It was a record of sorts. By vaccinating 27,21,935 persons on Tuesday alone, we left behind states like Uttar Pradesh (15,46,817), Andhra Pradesh (12,30,517), West Bengal (12,24,562) and Madhya Pradesh (9,54,668). We are working on a mission mode to fully vaccinate the state by achieving a first-ever target of ‘six crore in six months’. We hope this comes true when people turn up spontaneously at vaccination sites and those at the health department keep their spirits high to accomplish this goal. On the national level, India has a record of 1,32,45,266 people who were vaccinated in a single day.

    Q. At a time when at least 17 districts are reeling under the floods, how is your department managing the mega vaccination drive?

    PA: The drive is uninterrupted even for districts under floods. Our department has introduced vaccination units on boats which transport health workers to flooded areas to inoculate those living in these areas apart from people taking shelter in relief camps. These teams also accompany doctors to meet any medical emergencies. The health department is also running Tika Express vans which travel to the interiors of the districts. These vans are receiving a good response from people. 

    Q. How many sites did the department set up in Bihar to ramp up the vaccination on August 31? Is this mega drive the first ever in the state? 

    PA: Yes, this was the first such drive in the state. On August 31, more than 10000 vaccination centres were set up. These were manned by 13000 health workers and 15000 data operators and other personnel. Earlier last month, on August 5, 9,26,000 people were vaccinated. On the occasion of International Women’s Day in March, 2,02,137 people were vaccinated and 1,35,575 people were vaccinated on March 12. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and health minister Mangal Pandey, who continued to motivate the health workers, have also congratulated us for setting this record.

    Q. Apart from vaccination, what is the status of Bihar on the testing front and detection of fresh COVID cases as of now?

    PA: Bihar has tested over 4.18 crore people so far and in the last 24 hours, 1,48,989 tests were conducted. Bihar has so far conducted 4,18,45,097 COVID tests. As far as the new cases are concerned, only eight new infections were detected in the last 24 hours across five out of 38 districts. The recovery rate has reached 98.65% with only 99 active cases. Of these the number of those under treatment include 18 in Saharsa, 16 in Patna and 10 in Madhepura. Out of 725708 testing positive since 2020, 715955 have recovered. The number of deceased stands at 9,653 persons.

    Q. What is the response of people towards vaccination since the state has reported hesitancy?

    PA: The response is more than encouraging. So much so that we had to set up additional camps. A number of these sites in the urban areas had to work till late in the night to vaccinate residents. Giving an example, in Arwal district, when schools reopened, many students motivated their parents to get the vaccine. After this, many elders came forward and took the jab. Several vaccination sites turned into fair like sights with vendors coming forward to sell items to those queued up to get the vaccine.Vaccination in Bihar has received a festival-like enthusiasm. “Hum honge kamyab ek din” (we will be successful one day) in making Bihar fully vaccinated.  

  • Rakshabandhan celebrated with fervour in flood relief camps of Bihar

    Express News Service

    PATNA: Amid the miseries caused by the massive floods, Rakshabandhan on Sunday brought cheer to those affected by the natural calamity across Bihar, thanks to the frand arrangements made by the Nitish Kumar government. 

    The Patna district administration arranged for sweets, rakhis and new clothes in the flood relief camps. Forty-five-year-old Rekha Devi said that it was for the first time that her daughter was able to tie a rakhi on her brother’s wrist donning brand new clothes. “We bless the Sarkar (government), who has provided us such help when we are staying at the relief camp,”she said.

    Similar sentiments were echoed in another relief camp of the state capital where 19-year-old Madhu received a packet of sweets and rakhis for her two brothers.”My father is a rickshaw-puller. This is the first time we are tying rakhis to each other during a flood,” she said. 

    Bihar CM Nitish Kumar also celebrated this festival of love with his sisters. 

    The state government has offered free rides to women and girls in the state-run buses in Patna and other major cities to mark Rakshabandhan.

  • Double whammy in Bihar with major flood and water scarcity

    Express News Service

    PATNA:  “Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink,” wrote English poet ST Coleridge wrote in 1798. This is the situation prevailing today in Bihar. In many areas of the state, floodwaters have entered houses, but the residents don’t have a drop of safe water to drink. 

    “Sir, we are living like water captives. Around waist-deep water has inundated us but we don’t have a pot of safe water to drink,” Saroj Yadav, 45-year-old from Sabalpur in Saran rued over the phone. Hand pumps and water supply systems installed under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s ambitious ‘Jal Nal Yojana’ have gotten submerged under water amid flood. 

    Both, those who have left the village to safer places as well as those who are stranded in their homes filled with waist-high floodwater, don’t have a drop of water to drink as the state faces a scarcity of clean water. Raghunand Kumar, an auto-rickshaw driver from Bhojpur said that all five members of his family are living like water prisoners in their home.

    His rickshaw, which he had bought recently after paying Rs 1.50 lakh, has completely submerged in the floodwater. “We are living like cursed at our own fates. Amid plenty of water, we have to go three km away from the inundated village by boat to fetch a gallon of water to drink,” he said.

    Poisonous aquatic reptiles like snake seen floating around in houses inundated by floodwater poses a serious threat to children as well as elders. In Patna alone, many slum pockets living near Digha, Patliputra and Ganga basin areas have flooded with waist-deep water. 

    Thousands of people have escaped flooded areas and are living in tents along the side of highways. Almost all districts in the state are facing a shortage of safe drinking water. Almost all districts under flood water are facing a shortage of drinking water to a great extent.

    Nawal Kumar Singh from Raghopur in Vaishali district said that his water pump is submerged in waist-deep water. The supply of electricity was snapped after the electric poles fell down. “For drinking purposes, water is brought from Patna by a boat along with other villagers, facings the same problem covering a distance of nearly 10 km,” he said.

  • Bihar hosts 2-day international webinar on flood situation hosted by Water Resource Department

    Express News Service

    PATNA: Bihar still continues to be the most flood-prone state of India with more than 76% of the population of its northern part are doomed to face flood every year.

    This year also, more than 15 lakh of the population in North Bihar’s 11 districts, directly or indirectly, were affected by the flood.

    On Friday, experts from across the country and other countries, including Nepal and Italy, dwelt upon “Revisiting Flood Management and Irrigation Improvement Issues in Bihar”, at a 2-day international Webinar, hosted by Water Resource Department (WRD).

    WRD minister of Bihar Sanjay K Jha while inaugurating the Webinar outlined the initiatives taken by CM Nitish Kumar to overcome the perennial flood problems in North Bihar in particular and other parts of the state in general.

    Jha said that out of 38 districts of the state, 28 districts are flood-prone in Bihar, including 15 among 28, which are most flood-affected.

    He claimed that the WRD is working on a long-term solution for water management to check not only the recurring flood but also proper water management.

    “Early warning system, the Real Data Time Acquisition System, the Spatial Database System, use of remote sensing & GIS and other arrangements have been taken up by the WRD”, Jha shared with the experts from Italy, Nepal, IIT Rookie, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Lucknow.

    WRD Secretary Sanjeev Hans presenting a comprehensive action plan on flood-check predicted that the frequency and intensity of floods in Bihar would increase in the days to come.

    “Under the guidelines of CM Nitish Kumar, WRD has been working on structural, non-structural and green measures for flood mitigation and adopting a slew of various other scientific measures to save the people from flood furies”, Hans said.

    Hans also outlined the terracing of the slope of embankments and other initiatives like CAD-WM programs and for improvement of canal structures. Hans said that experts on the first day proposed for construction of high dams on several major rivers in the highland of Nepal, from where the rivers originate and flow through the plains of Bihar.

    Other experts, who attended the first day of the international Webinar, included DR RN Sankhua from Hyderabad, N.Dinesh Kumar, Manoj Chauhan, Neera Shreshtha Pradhan (Nepal), RR Upadhaya, Minimol Corulla, Mccaferry from Italy, and others.

  • People in Bihar struggle to cremate the dead due to lack of dry land amid flood

    Express News Service
    PATNA:   Residents of north Bihar’s 11 flood-hit districts are struggling to find dry land to cremate or bury the dead. In many areas, floodwaters have risen to the waist level. 

    “Whenever someone dies at this time when the flood has inundated almost all areas, including cremation ghats and grounds, no dry land can be found on which to set the pyre or bury the dead body as per Islamic rituals,” Ram Chandra Kumar, a resident of Darbhanga said.

    A pyre being prepared tocremate a body | Express Recently, residents of flood-affected Mahisaut village in Darbhanga district had to perform the last rites of a person.

    As no dry land could be found, a raised platform, made of bamboo, was set up in the waist-level water. 

    The dead body had to be carried spot on a boat. Many such reports have emerged from the flood-hit districts of the state.  

    “Almost all these cremation grounds and ghats have been flooded. So, it has a problem to arrange cremation if anyone dies in flood-affected areas,” Dinesh Yadav of East Champaran said.

    As many as 388 panchayats in 11 districts, including East Champaran, West Champaran and Saran, have been affected by the flood, according to a statement by the Disaster Management Department. 

    As many as 16.61 lakh people have been affected by floods in these districts and many of them are finding it challenging to find a spot to bury or cremate their loved ones.

    When no dry land could be found, people are forced to take dead bodies on boats to areas where they can be cremated.

    “This flood has come on top of the miseries caused by Covid-19. As witnessed during the peak of Covid-19, there is a shortage of space to cremation the dead,” Kumar said.

    11 districts affected 

    Eleven districts—Gopalganj, East Champaran, West Champaran, Saran, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Madhubani and Khagaria—are affected by floods.

  • Flood water enters Ahiyapur police station in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur

    By ANI
    MUZAFFARPUR: Following incessant rains in Bihar, the water level in the Burhi Gandak River has gone up and surrounding areas are flooded with the Ahiyapur police station being partially submerged. The police personnel have to use boats to move around and many people are facing trouble in making their way to the police station.

    The main road to the police station is under 4-5 feet of water. According to reports, water has been entering the Ahiyapur police station for the past two years. Residents of the area told ANI that water enters the police station every year after the level of the river rises.

    Ahiyapur Station House Officer (SHO) Sunil Kumar Rajak said, “Due to the increase in water in the river, water has entered the police station premises and there is a lot of trouble in commuting.” Following continuous rains in the state, there is a threat of flooding in the Bagaha area of East Champaran also.

    Earlier, on July 7, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar conducted an aerial survey and took stock of the flood situation in West and East Champaran.

  • Bihar CM Nitish Kumar conducts on-spot inspection of river embankments ahead of rainy season

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Ahead of the rainy season which mostly causes flood, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday conducted on-spot anti-erosion works inspection, which is now being carried out in Gopalganj and Saran districts along the embankments of the Gandak river. 

    During the inspection, Kumar, who has an engineering background, directed the engineers of the Water Resource Department (WRD) and other officials to complete all the works prior to the commencement of rainy seasons or the flood times. 

    Accompanied by WRD minister Sanjay K Jha, Sunil Kumar, and others, the CM inspected the Bandhauli-Sheetalpur-Faizallahpur zamindari embankment at Pakaha under the Baikunthpur block of Gopalganj district and the Saran embankment.

    The CM said that works being done on the embankments will help in preventing any miseries in flood-prone areas. 

    “Work is being done in the right way and many suggestions have also been given to ensure that the people don’t have any kind of problems during the rainy season”, Kumar told the media.

    He also discussed with officials of concerned departments and directed them to take all measures to ensure safety from flood miseries caused by the rain to the people of areas.

    Secretary of WRD Sanjeev Hans and other officials gave details about the work being carried out to CM.

    The CM also interacted with local representatives and took their suggestions for flood preventive works.