Bihar flood situation still grim; 2.24 million hit

Floodwaters from the Ganga and its tributaries, including Punpun and Dardha, continued to wreak havoc in Patna and adjoining areas on Sunday, aggravated by heavy rains in their catchment zones in Bihar and neighbouring Jharkhand.Floodwater from the Ganga and its tributaries continued to breach danger levels. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo/Representational)The Ganga crossed its previous highest flood level (HFL) at multiple points in the state capital. At Gandhi Ghat it stood at 50.57 metres this morning (0.05 metres above the August 2016 mark). At Pandarak it was 43.92 metres (0.19 metres above the 2021 HFL), at Danapur 52.63 metres (0.02 metres above HFL), and at Banka Ghat 49.47 metres (0.03 metres above HFL). Downstream stations, including Hathidah, remain under close watch, according to the water resources department and the disaster management department.Several other rivers including the Gandak at Dumariaghat and Hajipur, the Kosi at Baltara and Kursela, the Budhi Gandak at Khagaria, the Punpun at Sripalpur, the Bagmati at Benibad, and the Ghaghra at Darauli, were flowing above danger marks.Also Read I Weather Bee: Bihar, UP, MP floods in six chartsSwollen river water impacts multiple districtsAccording to the DMD’s evening update, the rising waters have affected approximately 2.24 million people across 12 districts—Patna, Bhojpur, Saran, Vaishali, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Buxar, Samastipur, Munger, Katihar, Lakhisarai and Arwal—spanning 70 blocks and 368 gram panchayats.Railway traffic disruption has been severe. Train traffic on the Patna-Gaya section has been completely snapped after Punpun river water partially submerged the girder of the bridge near Punpun Ghat station. Local train services have been suspended; several express trains have been cancelled or diverted by east central railway (ECR).Embankment breaches compounded the crisis. In Patna’s Masaurhi block, ring bunds and embankments gave way at Isarchak, Vishwambharpur, Chandchak, Chamarachakia and Pauma under pressure from the Punpun and its tributaries (Dardha and Lokain), linked to high releases from the Indrapuri barrage on the Sone and the swollen Ganga.Also Read I Bihar man's ₹2 lakh MacBook falls off bike in Bengaluru, e-rickshaw driver returns it: 'World is a very nice place'Relief operations have been scaled up. The DMD reported 190 community kitchens operating (up from about 80 a day earlier), serving roughly 251,000 meals so far. Twenty-seven SDRF teams and 10 NDRF teams remain deployed. Medical camps have risen to 171.Meanwhile, Opposition leaders, including RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, have demanded that the floods be declared a national disaster.