Nitish holds meeting over rainfall and flood alert, orders evacuation

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday held a high-level meeting in the backdrop of heavy rain reported from several districts in the state and a flood alert sounded by the Met department for the next few days, official sources said.

At the meeting, Kumar issued instructions for the evacuation of people from villages in which waters have entered through swollen rivers and their relocation to relief camps.

He expressed concern over Disaster Management Principal Secretary Pratyay Amrit's submission that the catchment areas of Nepal were expected receive up to 300 mm of rain in the next three days and it may affect the entire north Bihar.

Torrential rainfall in the catchment areas over a period of a few days in July had flooded more than a dozen districts of north Bihar leading to loss of more than 100 lives, the sources said.

Amrit said four villages close to a dam in Piprasi block of West Champaran district were being evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The chief minister underscored the need for taking preventive measures in districts situated along the river Ganga which has witnessed a rise in water levels over the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, the NDRF said 18 of its teams have been pressed into service in districts which have received heavy rainfall.