West Champaran bears brunt of heavy rain, link road caves in

CHANPATIA/BETTIAH: Heavy overnight rainfall in the Terai region on both sides of the India-Nepal border have wreaked havoc in West Champaran. Over 150 mm rainfall was recorded overnight in the district.
The approach road to the Ratwal-Dhanaha Gautam Buddha Setu caved in Thursday night, disrupting traffic to the four trans-Gandak blocks of West Champaran and onward to Uttar Pradesh.By Friday evening, the local administration was reported to be plugging the breach even as villagers living along the Gandak diara stepped up vigil, fearing heavier release of water from the Gandak barrage at Valmikinagar.
At Laukaria Vritti Tola in Bairiya block adjoining Bettiah, villagers rushed to plug the embankment that caved in due to heavy rain. Government engineers later reached the spot to reinforce the sagging embankment. The overflowing Sikrahana inundated the Puroshattampur police station on the Bettiah-Sikta road. This road leading to Mainatar further up was overtopped with around three feet water by Friday afternoon.
Bettiah, the district town, turned into a floating hell as incessant overnight rain led to waterlogging. The collectorate, court compound, the main roads and adjoining areas like Banuchapra that have been waterlogged for over three weeks witnessed rising water levels. A strong current flowed outside the Bettiah railway station. A district IPRD press release said restoration in the inundated areas of the town was proving difficult due to heavy rainfall.
The Sikrahana has overflowed at several places. On the Bettiah-Narkatiaganj highway, the overflowing Sikrahana is gushing in strong current near Chanpatia adjoining Basantpur and Satwaria villages. What was just a strong current on Thursday night became a high flowing torrent by Friday morning, disrupting traffic on both sides.
Enterprising young men from the vicinity brought in pushcarts that were soon pressed into a ferrying service of pull-carts. Motorbikes were loaded at Rs1,00 apiece to be ferried across the overtopped road in the current. Soon, the ferrying fees were jacked up two-fold. This reporter witnessed over two dozen such ferries to and fro, carrying bikes, passengers and goods.
Bhibuti Yadav, leading a team of eight cart-pullers, played down speculations of making a big packet. “We’ll be fortunate if each one of us earns Rs1000 by evening,” he said.
A couple of tractors, too, were pressed into service. The sturdy machines cut through the current even as the water level steadily began rising. “By nightfall, the level will rise to chest high,” Raj Kumar, anxious to get to the other side from Chanpatia to tend to the mango crop he has purchased, said. “There is no help from the administration. People are desperate to cross over. We hope there is no disaster,” Suman Kumar Chauhan, another passerby, said.