Bihar: Floods wreak havoc in Khagaria, Darbhanga

PATNA: Swollen rivers in north Bihar have kept the administration on alert and also caused countless miseries to tens of hundreds of villagers in 10 districts.
In Khagaria, panic prevailed among people following seepage in Badla-Nagarpara embankment near Kaithi village under Chautham block on Thursday. DM Alok Ranjan Ghosh along with a team of engineers of flood control divisions rushed to the spot to assess the situation.The situation was, however, under control as the district administration started flood-fighting work at vulnerable points on a war footing.
Meanwhile, electric supply to several villages was snapped as floodwaters of Bagmati river entered a number of riverine villages in Khagaria district.
In Darbhanga, eight blocks as well as low-lying areas of the town are affected by flooding of rivers. Marooned people of Kusheshwar Asthan, Kiratpur, Gaurabauram, Tardih, Ghanshyampur and Hayaghat blocks have taken shelter on NH-57, state highway, embankments and other higher places. District administration is running a number of community kitchens for feeding the flooded and displaced people.
In Keoti block, six panchayats have been surrounded with water and cooked food is being distributed through rowing of boats. Gehua river flowing between eastern and western embankments of Kamla Balan has inundated eight panchayats of Ghanshyampur block. DM Thyagrajan SM and other officials visited the affected areas and supervised relief operations.
In Saran district, ADM Bharat Bhushan inspected Saran embankment on river Gandak at Panapur and other places and directed residents of Prithvipur, Salempur and Basahiya to shift to safer places. ADM Bharat Bhushan, who is in charge of the district disaster management, said polythene sheets have been provided at Maker, Panapur, Taraiya, Parsa and Sonepur and further sheets would be made available on demand by the respective BDOs.
In West Champaran, road communications from Lauria to Ramnagar and Narkatiaganj were restored after four days on Thursday. The district administration has put barricade over the road at Bengali Chowk and deployed home guard jawans, so that no one could cross the road over flooded water.
In Sitamarhi, Sursand, Parihar, Bathanaha, Dumra, Bajpatti, Belsand, Runnisaidpur, Suppi, Choraut and Bokhara blocks are partially affected by flood. Sitamarhi-Sursand, Sitamarhi-Parihar, Sitamarhi-Sheohar, Riga-Suppi and Sitamarhi-Bajpatti roads have been overtopped by floodwaters. The Lakhandei river water has been flowing on Kanhauli-Khap Khopraha and Lagma-Bhasepur roads, causing a lot of hardships to villagers and commuters.
(With inputs from NP Thakur in Khagaria, B K Jha in Darbhanga, H K Verma in Saran, Tirthraj Kushwaha in Bagaha & S K Singh in Sitamarhi)