Around one lakh people were affected as the swollen Bagmati breached its embankment near Tajpur in Bihar's Sitamarhi district on Saturday, prompting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to order a high-level probe into the breach and deployment of National Disaster Response Force personnel.
The river breached its embankment in a stretch of 40 - 50 metres at Tajpur under the Runnisayedpur block, inundating vast areas and several villages in eight panchayats of the district, official sources said.
As reports of swirling waters of Bagmati breaching the embankment reached him, Kumar held a high-level meeting with state Water Resources minister Vijendra Yadav, Principal Secretary (Water Resources) M R Nayak, besides Principal Secretary (Disaster Management) and other senior officials.
He ordered immediate deployment of NDRF in the affected areas to step up relief and rescue operations, an official spokesman said.
The NDRF personnel would reach the site within hours with necessary equipment, the spokesman said.
Kumar said the breach repair works were being carried out by the experts, including the engineers of the flood-fighting cells, on a "war-footing".
An estimated one lakh people were hit by the floods, the sources said, adding reports of four to five children being swept away in the swift currents were being verified.
Road communication between Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi was likely to be affected as flood waters submerged the National Highway near Koati, about 17 km from here, they said.
Unconfirmed reports suggested that the breach occurred due to digging near the embankment last night and the river swelled over a period of time because of sharp erosions.
Flood fighting continued at the breach-site and the engineers expected to plug the breach shortly, they said.
Divisional Commissioner, Tirhut, S M Raju, District Magistrate Sitamarhi and other senior officials reached the spot to oversee the relief and rescue operations.
The Water Resources Minister accompanied by Principal Secretary of the department and disaster management officials, airdashed to Sitamarhi to take stock of the situation.link
Showing posts with label Bagmati. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bagmati. Show all posts
Saturday 1 August 2009
Friday 3 July 2009
Major rivers in spate in Bihar
Major rivers in north Bihar, especially the Kosi, Gandak, Budhi and Bagmati, are in spate following heavy rains in their catchment areas and are posing a threat of floods, officials said Friday.
With heavy rainfall recorded in the catchments areas in neighbouring Nepal, the water levels of these rivers have been rising to dangerous levels for the last two days.
"The Bagmati has crossed the danger mark at some points and the water level in Gandak also increased following water discharge into the river from Nepal," said an official of the central water commission.
In view of the spate in major rivers, the state government has alerted the administrations of flood prone Madhepura, Supaul, Saharsa, Araria, Purnia, Darbhanga, Samastipur and Sitamarhi districts.
Official sources said engineers of the water resource department have been directed to keep a vigil on the vulnerable embankments.
According to reports reaching here, an embankment on the Bagmati river in Aurai block was breached, resulting in inundation of several villages Thursday.
The fear of a repeat of last year's devastating floods is haunting thousands of people in the region from where Kosi flows following a record water discharge into the river from Nepal.
However, Bihar Water Resources Development Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said the Kosi embankment was safe and there was no need to panic.
He stressed that the eastern Kosi embankment, which was breached Aug 18 last year, flooding five districts of northern Bihar, was totally safe.
Last year, more than three million people were rendered homeless in Bihar when the Kosi river breached its bank upstream in Nepal and changed course Aug 18. Large tracts of land were flooded, forcing people to flee their homes.
Thousands of people were affected in the floods that were said to be the worst in Bihar in the last 50 years. People were forced to live along roads under the open sky without food and drinking water or in relief camps set up by the state government. link
With heavy rainfall recorded in the catchments areas in neighbouring Nepal, the water levels of these rivers have been rising to dangerous levels for the last two days.
"The Bagmati has crossed the danger mark at some points and the water level in Gandak also increased following water discharge into the river from Nepal," said an official of the central water commission.
In view of the spate in major rivers, the state government has alerted the administrations of flood prone Madhepura, Supaul, Saharsa, Araria, Purnia, Darbhanga, Samastipur and Sitamarhi districts.
Official sources said engineers of the water resource department have been directed to keep a vigil on the vulnerable embankments.
According to reports reaching here, an embankment on the Bagmati river in Aurai block was breached, resulting in inundation of several villages Thursday.
The fear of a repeat of last year's devastating floods is haunting thousands of people in the region from where Kosi flows following a record water discharge into the river from Nepal.
However, Bihar Water Resources Development Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said the Kosi embankment was safe and there was no need to panic.
He stressed that the eastern Kosi embankment, which was breached Aug 18 last year, flooding five districts of northern Bihar, was totally safe.
Last year, more than three million people were rendered homeless in Bihar when the Kosi river breached its bank upstream in Nepal and changed course Aug 18. Large tracts of land were flooded, forcing people to flee their homes.
Thousands of people were affected in the floods that were said to be the worst in Bihar in the last 50 years. People were forced to live along roads under the open sky without food and drinking water or in relief camps set up by the state government. link
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