Flood threat to many north Bihar districts as 4 rivers flow above danger level

Govt. creates twitter hashtag where people could highlight any erosion in embankments

Level of water increases near a bridge on River Kosi. Photo used for illustration purpose only. File

With four rivers flowing above the danger level, the threat of flood looms over parts of north Bihar.

The State Meteorological department has predicted that heavy rain would continue till July 2.

The Kosi, Bagmati, Kamla Balan and Mahananda were flowing above the danger level at many places on Monday, threatening to inundate several parts of northern districts such as Muzaffarpur, Katihar, Purnia, Jhanjharpur in Madhubani and Sitamarhi.

The water level in the Ganga too is gradually increasing, according to officials.

The Central Water Commission tweeted that “the Bagmati continues to flow in a severe situation at Benibad in Muzaffarpur district”.

NDRF, SDRF deployed

The State government has deployed 13 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 14 teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) in sensitive areas in districts such as Katihar, Purnia, Araria, Supaul, Kishanganj, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, East Champaran, Nalanda, Saran, Bhagalpur, Madhubani, Samastipur, Sitamarhi, Saharsha, Madhepura and Buxar, said an official.

“Home guard personnel too have been deployed to inform villagers how to protect themselves in the time of flood and COVID-19,” said the official.

“Though the situation is under control now, threat looms due to heavy rain in the catchment areas of Nepal and in the State.”

The Water Resources Department has come up with a twitter hashtag where people could highlight any erosion or crack in river embankments.

“We need your help! Officials of @ WRD-Bihar, are constantly monitoring all the flood prone areas of #Bihar. But if you notice any breach in embankment or need of flood fighting work in your area reach out to us on #Twiter with #HelloWRD. Your safety is our priority,” said the tweet. State WRD Minister Sanjay Jha said the department would soon also launch a 24X7 call centre with a toll free number for the people to inform us about any breach or crack they could spot in the embankment in their area. “The involvement of common people will eventually help the department to reach out to them on time.”