|
|
|
|
Patna, Sep 13 (IANS) The flood situation in Bihar continued to be grim Tuesday and the state government sounded a fresh alert, asking people to shift to safe places, after the level of the Ganga river rose and the Sone river too looked likely to rise, officials said.
The state disaster management department has asked people living in villages near the two rivers in Patna, Bhojpur and Arwal districts to move to higher ground.
|
The department said over four lakh people in half a dozen districts have been affected by the floods. "Hundreds of people were forced to flee their homes after their villages were inundated," an official said.
The official told IANS that after the reports of fall in the level of the Sone Monday, it is set to rise any time following release of over three lakh cusecs of water in the river from Bansagar dam in Madhya Pradesh.
"The water level is bound to rise and it will worsen the flood situation," the official said.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been deployed for rescue and relief operations as flood water has inundated several areas.
Bihar Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said the situation has not worsened but danger is still looming. "We have alerted district administrations as well as engineers posted at vulnerable places to keep close vigil."
According to the water resources department, the state has lodged a strong protest with the Madhya Pradesh government for releasing 8.39 lakh cusecs of water from Bansagar dam in the Sone river without alerting the Bihar government.
The department's principal secretary Afzal Amanullah said that the sudden discharge of water in the Sone was biggest since 1975.
After sudden rise in the water level of the two rivers two days ago, the government ordered the district administrations of Patna, Bhojpur, Saran, Vaishali, Katihar, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Samastipur and Khagaria to keep a round-the-clock vigil.
The Patna and Ara canals of Sone river have been closed as a precautionary measure.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held a meeting for the third consecutive day with top officials here to review the flood situation.
"He has directed the officials to speed up rescue and relief operations in the affected areas and keep a close watch on the flood situation," said an official in the Chief Minister's Office.
comments...
|
|
