PATNA: The flood situation in Bihar has escalated to a critical level, with relentless rainfall across the state and neighbouring Nepal’s catchment areas throwing normal life completely out of gear. According to an official statement released by the Disaster Management Department (DMD) on Monday, the deluge has severely impacted nearly 50 lakh people across 15 districts.
The official data reveals that 49.36 lakh residents spread over 575 gram panchayats in 88 blocks are grappling with the disaster. The affected districts include Patna, Bhojpur, Saran, Vaishali, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Buxar, Samastipur, Munger, Katihar, Lakhisarai, Khagaria, Purnia, Madhepura, and Araria.
A senior official confirmed that surging water levels in several major rivers, including the Ganga and Kosi, have crossed the danger mark. The Kosi is overflowing dangerously at Baltara and Kursela, while the Ganga has breached the red mark at multiple locations, including Digha, Gandhi Ghat, Hathidah, Bhagalpur, Kahalgaon, and Munger. On Monday evening, the Ganga’s water level at Sultanganj in Bhagalpur was recorded at 36.19 metres, surpassing the danger threshold by 1.69 metres.
Other rivers flowing above the danger level include the Burhi Gandak in Khagaria, Punpun in Sripalpur, Bagmati in Benibad, and Ghaghara in Darauli. The regional weather department attributed the swelling rivers to excess precipitation, noting that Bihar has recorded 112.7 mm of rainfall in September so far, roughly six per cent above the normal average.
To address the humanitarian crisis, the state administration has operationalised 1,260 community kitchens and 13 relief camps. These facilities are providing food, medical aid, and shelter to over 11,060 displaced individuals. Rescue operations have been ramped up with the deployment of 27 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams and 10 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams. Authorities are also closely monitoring water discharge, having released 1.09 lakh cusecs from the Valmikinagar Gandak barrage and 1.63 lakh cusecs from the Birpur Kosi barrage on Monday.
Amid the ongoing catastrophe, political tensions have also surfaced. Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, launched a scathing attack on the Central government, accusing it of bias in distributing disaster relief. Yadav claimed that the floods have resulted in over 50 fatalities and thousands of crores in property and livestock damage, yet the Centre is allegedly favouring states like Gujarat over Bihar when allocating financial assistance.