ght of the flood-affected blocks this week. According to the locals, the district has never experienced flash floods of this severity. Vinay Kumar, secretary of NGO Water Action says half of the affected populace in Pashchim Champaran has never seen a flood before.
Vinod Patel, a farmer from Ramgarh district lost his belongings after his house was washed away in the floods. “I found the remnants of my house a kilometre away. I am just trying to salvage whatever I can,” he says. According to a news report, the flood situation worsened in Bihar after 4.85 lakh cusec water was released on Sunday from the Gandak barrage in Valmikinagar.
Anirudh Kumar, joint secretary, Bihar Disaster Management Department, says the situation was critical in Madhubani, Kishanganj, Katihar, Champaran, Supaul, Araria, Saharsa and Madhepur. Forty-eight teams of National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and the army were working round the clock to rescue people. He says 2.78 lakh people have been rescued so far and 1.6 lakh have been relocated to a safer place.
The Indian Air Force has also pitched in with a helicopter, two aircraft, four boats and 90 troops for the rescue operation, a senior Air Force official says.
Supaul resident, Rahul Kumar, says streets in Kishanganj and Araria were under waist-deep water. According to chief public relations officer of East Central Railway, Rajesh Kumar, 18 trains have been cancelled and the others were running late because of the flood. “Katihar-Siliguri rail route was closed and there was no contact with the northeast,” he says. Kosi river, which had wreaked havoc in Bihar in 2008, is inundating villages and eroding lands in Supaul.
In Assam, which is experiencing the third wave of flood this year, 24 of its 32 districts are under water. About 33.45 lakh people and 2,970 villages have been affected, according to a report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority dated August 16. The government has set up 304 relief camps, where about 1.39 lakh people have taken shelter. Floods this year have claimed 140 lives in the state.
The third wave of flood hit Assam as people were beginning to return to their villages after biding time in relief camps. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the quantum of rainfall Assam has received so far this month is twice the normal expected rainfall.
Seven rivers–Brahmaputra, Dhansiri, Jia Bharali, Puthimari, Beki Sankosh, Katakhal and Kushiyara–were flowing above the danger level till the evening of August 16. Instances of swelling rivers breaching embankments are being reported with four such instances reported on August 16 alone. Earlier this week, Jia Dhol river breached an embankment in Dihiri village in the western part of the state and submerged 22 villages.
A worried Anu Rabha of Bamun Gaon in Dhemaji district says, “My entire agricultural land is under water. I have lost all my cattle, too. I urge the government to compensate us for this loss as we are suffering. This happened because the Guyekhowa embankment is breached and this is the fault of the administration.”
In the eastern part of Assam, Dhemaji is the worst hit by the deluge. It lies cut off from the rest of the world since the district administration closed the Kumtia bridge. Severe erosion is taking place in Udalguri, Nagaon, Bangaigaon and Chirang districts, affecting agriculture fields, houses and schools.
According to the disaster management report, as on August 16, more than 1.43 lakh hectares of crop area was affected in Assam. The worst affected district was Bhuragaon with more than 17000 hectares of crop area under water.
In Assam’s neighbouring state Arunachal Pradesh, heavy landslides caused by incessant rains have blocked many roads. The remote Anjaw district lies cut off as the main road connecting it to the neighbouring districts has been blocked since August 8 owing to a landslide.
Some villages in the district were cut off from each other due to the flood a week ago. Flood has isolated four districts in the state–Anjaw, East Siang, Namsai, and parts of W