Patna, Sept 7: The flood situation in Bihar remained grim on Sunday as swollen rivers, including the Ganga, Punpun and Dardha, inundated large areas of Patna and adjoining districts, affecting around 22.4 lakh people across 12 districts, officials said.
According to the Disaster Management Department (DMD), the floodwaters have affected people across 70 blocks and 368 gram panchayats as the Ganga and several of its tributaries continued to swell following heavy rains in their catchment areas in Bihar and neighbouring Jharkhand.
The Ganga crossed its previous Highest Flood Level (HFL) at multiple locations in and around Patna, keeping authorities on high alert.
At Gandhi Ghat, the river stood at 50.57 metres, 0.05 metres above the previous high recorded in August 2016. At Pandarak, it reached 43.92 metres, surpassing the 2021 HFL by 0.19 metres.
The river was flowing at 52.63 metres at Danapur, 0.02 metres above its previous HFL, while at Banka Ghat it stood at 49.47 metres, 0.03 metres above the earlier high level.
Downstream locations, including Hathidah, were being closely monitored by the Water Resources Department and the Disaster Management Department.
Several other major rivers were also flowing above danger levels at different locations. These included the Gandak at Dumariaghat and Hajipur, Kosi at Baltara and Kursela, Budhi Gandak at Khagaria, Punpun at Sripalpur, Bagmati at Benibad and Ghaghra at Darauli.
The rising water has also severely disrupted railway operations. Train movement on the Patna-Gaya section has been completely snapped after floodwater from the Punpun partially submerged a girder of a bridge near Punpun Ghat station.
Local train services have been suspended, while several express trains have either been cancelled or diverted by the East Central Railway.
The situation was further aggravated by breaches in ring bunds and embankments in Patna district’s Masaurhi block. Breaches were reported at Isarchak, Vishwambharpur, Chandchak, Chamarachakia and Pauma as the Punpun and its tributaries, including the Dardha and Lokain, came under intense pressure.
Officials attributed the pressure to high releases from the Indrapuri barrage on the Sone, coupled with the swollen Ganga and rising water levels in the Punpun system.
Amid the worsening situation, relief operations have been stepped up across the affected areas. The number of community kitchens has increased to 190, from around 80 a day earlier, and they have so far served approximately 2.51 lakh meals.
The state has also deployed 27 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams and 10 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams for rescue and relief operations. The number of medical camps has been increased to 171 to provide healthcare assistance to affected residents.
Meanwhile, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has demanded that the devastating floods in Bihar be declared a national disaster, amid the growing scale of the crisis.
With several rivers continuing to flow above danger levels and the Ganga breaching previous high-water marks at multiple locations, authorities remained on alert and continued monitoring vulnerable areas.
