Bihar flood situation grim, death toll remains at 127

There was no let up in the flood situation in Bihar where the deluge has affected over 85 lakh people even though the toll remained at 127 for the second consecutive day on Sunday.

One of the severely affected districts, Darbhanga has so far reported 12 casualties ever since Bihar was hit by flash floods earlier this month owing to torrential rainfall in Terai region of Nepal.

Water level under a railway bridge close to Hayaghat in the district rose above the danger level prompting the East Central Railway to suspend movement of trains on the Darbhanga-Samastipur section.

Altogether 13.85 lakh people, in 200 panchayats of 16 blocks in the district are affected by the floods, the state disaster management department said.

The worst-hit districts in terms of deaths, however, are Sitamarhi and Madhubani which has accounted for 37 and 30 casualties respectively.

Altogether 13 north Bihar districts have been hit by the flood. Of these, only Katihar and West Champaran have reported no deaths so far.

Araria accounted for 12 casualties, followed by Sheohar (10), Purnea (nine), Kishanganj (seven), Muzaffarpur (four), Supaul (three), East Champaran (one) and Saharsa (one).

The state disaster management department has put the total number of people hit by floods in the state at 85.601 lakh and 876 personnel with 133 motor boats have been deployed for relief and rehabilitation work.

The IAF has deployed two helicopters for air dropping food and other relief material while the 9th battalion of the NDRF has deployed 19 teams in the flood-affected areas.

The state government has announced an ex gratia of Rs four lakh to the next of kin of each deceased while each family surviving the calamity is getting an assistance of Rs 6,000 through direct cash transfer.

Sporadic incidents of locals staging protests over unsatisfactory distribution of relief materials have been reported from some flood-hit areas.