(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The flood situation in Bihar worsened yesterday, with many rivers breaching their banks and embankments and affecting nearly 2mn people, officials said.
The government has launched massive relief and rescue operations with help from the army, air force as well as National Disaster Response Force and Bihar State Disaster Response Force teams in the 14 flood-hit districts.
'We are evacuating people to safer places. It is our priority for now because thousands are stranded, said Pratyaya Amrit, principal secretary in the Bihar Disaster Management Department.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, after an aerial survey of the flooded districts, said he had told officials to speed up rescue and relief work.
'It is like a flash flood situation after heavy rains in the last three days. Relief and rescue operations are going on in full swing, he said.
Kumar said he had asked the district magistrates of the worst-hit districts to conduct aerial surveys and work on a strategy to reach out to the affected people. 'It will take time for the flood waters to recede from villages.
According to the Bihar Disaster Management Department, nearly 2mn people have been affected by the floods, including thousands who have been forced to flee their homes.
In the last two days, at least 1mn people have been displaced in Kishanganj, Araria, Purnea and Katihar districts.
'Thousands were displaced as their villages got inundated, a Kishanganj district official said.
Other affected districts are Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Madhepura, Saharsa, Supaul as well as East and West Champaran.
The Bihar State Disaster Management Department has asked people living in low-lying areas to move to higher places as heavy rains continue.
'The flood situation in Bihar will continue to be grim for some time due to rising water levels in rivers and incessant rains, a department official said.
So far, 10 people, including women and children, have been killed in the floods.
Major rivers in the state including the Koshi, Mahananda, Gandak, Bagmati and the Ganges are in spate, according to officials.
'With heavy rainfall in the catchment areas in Nepal, water levels in these rivers have been rising for the past several days, one officer said.
Kumar has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh to provide all possible help.
His office said an 80-member team from the Bihar Regiment rushed to Kishanganj and Araria districts on Sunday evening. More soldiers joined them yesterday.
Railway stations in Kishanganj, Katihar and Jogbani in Araria were flooded, leaving scores of passengers stranded. Eighteen trains have been cancelled since Sunday.
According to officials, crops worth millions of rupees have been damaged and road links to several places snapped.
Reports reaching here said flood waters had submerged NH 104 in Sitamarhi, NH 31 in Kishanganj and NH 327 in Araria. Road traffic has been cut in these districts.
Meanwhile, rescuers resumed search for the second day in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district where a massive landslide swallowed a 150m stretch of road burying three homes, two buses and a bike and leaving 46 dead.
The authorities believe one person might be trapped in the mud pile spread over 300m area.
'This morning we restarted search operation and during the day-long search, no body or trace of any missing person was found, Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kadam, who is supervising the operation, said.
He said 46 bodies were recovered so far, all of them on Sunday. Thirty-three of them were identified and the bodies handed over to their family members yesterday.
Relatives of one missing bus passenger approached the local authorities to know about his whereabouts.
'So far we have received information about one missing bus passenger and we are on the job to locate him, a rescuer said.
A mudslide triggered late on Saturday night by heavy rains killed at least 46 people and injuring five.
Most of the victims belong to Himachal Pradesh. Some were from Pathankot in Punjab.
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