Bihar flood situation remains grim; 81.67 lakh people affected

The flood situation in Bihar remained critical on Wednesday with an additional 8,358 people affected by the calamity in 16 districts while Water Resources Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha said, there was no "immediate threat" to the state capital from the rising water level of the Ganga.

He said this after making a surprise inspection of various ghats along the river, which is flowing above the danger mark at Gandhi Ghat here.

The Ganga is flowing 10 cm above the danger mark at Gandhi Ghat, over 26 cm above the mark at Hathidah in Patna and more than 13 cm above the mark at Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur.

The minister carried out an on-the-spot review with officials and found that there was no immediate threat from the rising water level in the Ganga as it is 1.82 metres below its highest flood level of 50.52 metres at Gandhi Ghat, an official release said.

The minister, who was accompanied by the departments secretary Sanjeev Hans, was apprised of Patna Town Protection Wall (PTP) in detail, it said.

The PTP wall was constructed in 1976 to protect the city from any flood threat from the Ganga. During the inspection of the ghats, a surprise mock drill was carried out at gate number 55 of the PTP at LCT Ghat to ensure proper closure of the gates, Jha said.

Meanwhile, the water level of the Ganga is witnessing a rising trend in Buxar, Munger, Bhagalpur, and Digha Ghat in Patna. A total of 81,67,671 people have been affected by flood waters in 1,317 panchayats of 130 blocks, official reports said.

About 81.59 lakh people were affected on Tuesday. The Disaster Management Department said, the number of deaths in flood-related incidents remained 25 in the state.

Of the total 12 relief centres, only six centres were functional on Wednesday. About 5.50 lakh people have been evacuated so far by 27 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

The number of people living in relief centres has reduced to 5,198 in six centres from 13,198 people in 12 relief camps on Tuesday.

(Photo Credit: PTI)