Spotlight: Massive flooding affects 2.9 million people in India's Bihar

A massive flooding in India's eastern state of Bihar has affected over 2.9 million people with water inundating several areas, officials said Thursday.

During the last 24 hours seven deaths, five from Samastipur district and one each from Khagaria and Nalanda districts, were reported. The districts are located east of Patna city, the capital of Bihar.

The state has been hit by floods since June this year and during the two rounds of deluge, officials said 127 deaths were reported so far.

"In the current round so far 29 people were killed," a local government official said. "The first round claimed 98 human lives."

According to disaster management officials in Bihar, of the state's 38 districts, 24 are affected with flood waters.

"In the 24 affected districts across the state, 4222 villages are inundated," the disaster management officials said. "And in the flood-hit areas, a population of more than 2.9 million people have been affected."

The flood water according to officials have breached embankments and entered the residential areas and agricultural land. Estimates made by local government officials said flooding has affected 3.8 million hectares of crop land and damaged residential structures mostly thatched cottages.

"The deluge has damaged 86 solid houses, 199 partially solid, 1955 mud houses, 4614 partially mud structures and 11185 thatched huts," a government official said.

Local residents say parts of Bihar which were hardly ever flooded in recent past were currently under water. The residents have to wade through the flooded streets to reach safer places.

"It is for the first time I am seeing huge water entering our village and into our houses," Shubham Das, a resident from Patna told Xinhua over telephone. "All the people here have left for safer places to take shelter in relief camps and higher grounds."

According to Das, it is after more than 30 years that such massive flooding has hit the district and surrounding areas.

Reports said the flood waters are now entering the districts located along the downstream of the river Ganga.

"Munger, Begusarai, Bhagalpur and Khagaria are at high risk," officials said. "According to central water commission, river Ganga is flowing above danger mark at almost all places and current spate was caused by river Ganga, Sone, Punpun, Burhi Gandak, Ghaghra and Kosi."

Authorities have deployed teams of disaster response force to carry out relief and rescue operations in the affected areas. Officials said the rescue teams deployed across affected districts help people to reach safer places.

Local officials have said around 300,000 people have been evacuated and 262 relief camps were set up in the affected areas to provide food and medicines to the displaced people.

Meteorological department officials said the current precipitation is 14 percent below the normal.

On Tuesday day the state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in wake of the worsening flood situation in the state. Kumar said that his state has received 14 per cent less rain than is standard for the monsoon and described the devastation "man-made."

Kumar conveyed Modi that current flooding is due to the Farraka barrage (dam located in West Bengal) that has led to silt or sediment piling up all along 400 km river bed to Patna, making it much easier for the water to spillover during frequent rains.

"The Farraka barrage that has been built on river Ganga has resulted in deposition of slit upstream," Kumar told reporters. "We are stuck in a situation,that river coming from neighbouring areas of Nepal, Madhya Pradesh and Jarkhand flows into Ganga through Bihar."

Modi according to reports has agreed to dispatch a team of experts to look into the process de-silting in and around Patna.

As the state government is battling to carry out relief and rescue operations, a senior leader in Bihar has to face backlash for his remarks.

"It's a fortunate and welcome sight to find the Ganga at one's doorstep. You are fortunate that the Ganga has reached your homes. It does not always happen. In most cases you go to it," Laloo Prasad Yadav, chief of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party told media.

Yadav's party is a coalition partner in the state government led by Kumar.

Many Hindus consider river Ganga as sacred and believe that water from Ganges has the power to wash away sins of humans.

Last month floods hit India's northeastern state of Assam affecting over 1.2 million people. The deluge claimed 28 human lives, apart from perishing around 200 wild animals inside state's Kaziranga national park. Endit