Villagers take shelter on roads amid flood fear in north Bihar; 2 drown - Hindustan Times
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Villagers take shelter on roads amid flood fear in north Bihar; 2 drown

BySandeep Bhaskar, Bettiah
Aug 30, 2021 09:30 PM IST

In East Champaran, major rivers like Gandak, Lalbakeya and Sikrahna continued to be in spate on Monday following heavy discharge of water from Valmikinagar barrage and incessant rain in the catchment area of Nepal.

A large number of villagers in north Bihar have taken shelter on roads, embankments and safer places amid rising fear of flood in parts of East Champaran, Gopalganj and West Champaran districts with water level of rivers rising dangerously, officials said on Monday. Meanwhile, two deaths were reported owing to drowning in different parts of East Champaran.

Around 200 people shifted to safer places each in Baikunthpur and Sidhawaliya. (Jai Prakash/HT Photo)
Around 200 people shifted to safer places each in Baikunthpur and Sidhawaliya. (Jai Prakash/HT Photo)

In East Champaran, major rivers like Gandak, Lalbakeya and Sikrahna continued to be in spate on Monday following heavy discharge of water from Valmikinagar barrage and incessant rain in the catchment area of Nepal.

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In the district’s Sangrampur block, while a large number of villagers have taken shelter on roads, Champaran embankment and other safer places, several families belonging to villages of Nautan block in West Champaran have taken shelter on Champaran embankment with their livestock.

“We do not want to take any risk with regard to safety of our family members and livestock. Like many other villagers, we have put up our tent,” said one Prahalad Yadav, who has taken shelter on a road in Sangrampur block.

When contacted, Sangrampur circle officer (CO), Suresh Paswan, confirmed the number of families taking shelter on embankment and other places between 50 and 60. “We are going to distribute raw food materials among them,” he said. Meanwhile, in Sagauli and Banjariya blocks of East Champaran, water entered low lying areas of about two dozen villages. “We are vigilant. However, need for evacuation has not arisen as yet,” Dharmendra Prasad Gupta, CO, Sagauli, said.

Nautan CO (West Champaran) Bhaskar described few villages in the block as flood-prone. “There is a waterlogging in agricultural land and the possibility of flood in few villages cannot be ruled out if water level rises further. We have already alerted residents of those villages,” he said.

Besides, in West Champaran, road link between Lauriya and Narkatiaganj was disrupted, as water from Sikarahana river inundated a road at a diversion near Ashokan Pillar in Lauriya. Link between Sheohar and Motihari through Patahi is expected to be disrupted for next few days, said Kumar Ravindra, SDM Pakaridayal.

In Gopalganj district, several families in Baikunthpur, Gopalganj (Sadar), Barauli, Kuchaikote, Majha and Sidhawaliya blocks have also taken shelter on roads and safer places following incessant rainfall and rise in water level in Gandak river. “Around 200 people shifted to safer places each in Baikunthpur and Sidhawaliya. Community kitchens are on at five places in the district,” said Birendra Prasad, additional district magistrate (ADM), in-charge of disaster management, Gopalganj.

Gandak’s water level has risen by around three inches above the danger level, he said.

The district administration, however, has ruled out any threat on embankment. “Though water level has risen in Gandak, it is static now. We are watchful,” said Dr. Naval Kishor Choudhary, Gopalganj’s district magistrate (DM).

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