Ganga flood waters enter Bihar capital

The overflowing waters of the Ganga river entered Patna on Saturday and inundated residential and business centres situated near its banks.

Taking note of the situation, Bihar Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh held an emergency meeting with concerned officials. The roads in the city were water-logged and the flood waters entered some apartments near the LCT ghat.

"The administration is fully alert in view of the situation," Patna District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar said.

"To prevent the waters from flowing into Patna, the state authorities have sealed all the openings along the 8.5 km-long Patna town protection wall which was constructed after the floods in 1975, when the waters of the Ganga and the Sone rivers had wreaked havoc in the city," Kumar added.

The Ganga has been flowing above the danger mark and the situation is alarming.

All the drains, which lead into the river, have been sealed in view of the rising water level.

An alert has been issued and the administration has appealed to people to keep calm.

"A team of National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force has been deployed to evacuate people living in lower areas, close to banks of the river", Kumar said.

Bihar Water Resources Minister Lalan Singh said that there is no need for panic.

For the younger generation in Patna, the scenario of flooding in the state capital is a new phenomenon.

"Flood waters entering Patna is something new and amazing to me. We have only heard and read till date about the flooding in Koshi region. But now, it is in Patna also," Samarpan Rai, a Class 10 student said.

Mukesh Ranjan, an engineering college student said: "For the first time I have seen flood waters entering Patna. It is a new experience for me".

The Water Resources Department has cancelled the leave of its field officials in view of the flood waters entering Patna and asked them to patrol the protection wall round the clock.