The Hindu : Front Page : Flood havoc in Bihar, U.P.

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Friday, Aug 03, 2007
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Flood havoc in Bihar, U.P.

Around 45 lakh people of 1,615 villages in Bihar affected; 95 killed in U.P.

— Photos: PTI, AFP

Enduring hardship: People take shelter on either side of the railway track near the Kamtaul railway station in north Bihar on Thursday after the area was flooded by the Bagmati river. (Right): A villager transports his family to safety at a village in Kamrup district of Assam on Thursday.

Patna: Nearly 45 lakh people in Bihar are reeling under the impact of floods though the overall situation showed signs of let-up on Thursday with most rivers receding.

Sources in the State Disaster Management department told PTI that the Army was on standby and Air Force helicopters and Army boats could be pressed into service for relief operations as soon as requests came in from district authorities.

Around 45 lakh people of 1,615 villages in 88 blocks spread across the districts of Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, East and West Champaran, Gopalganj, Khagaria, Saharsa, Samastipur and Supaul had been affected by the floods, the sources said. The level of all major rivers, except the Burhi Gandak and Gandak, was falling.

The floods caused extensive damage to crops and private and public property. Crops on 4.94 lakh hectares were damaged, while 30,459 houses and public property were destroyed. — PTI

K. Balchand reports:

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar returned on Thursday from Mauritius amid criticism from several quarters that he was not serious in tackling the flood situation.

The Patna High Court took note of the poor relief operations even as the Governor made an aerial survey and held an all party meeting.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Union Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan used IAF helicopters to assess the damage caused by floods and sufferings of people.

Mr. Prasad made an aerial survey on Wednesday and Mr. Paswan on Thursday. Mr. Prasad said

Mr. Kumar is expected to undertake an aerial survey on Friday but claimed that relief operations were not hampered by his absence and that his political rivals were levelling baseless accusations against him.

Lucknow Special Correspondent reports:

With floods claiming 95 lives in Uttar Pradesh and the Army pressed into action, Chief Minister Mayawati has called for implementation of the 1996 Indo-Nepal Treaty for finding a permanent solution to the problem of floods in the State.

As a majority of the flood ravaged districts are in eastern Uttar Pradesh, the annual calamity is wrought by rivers, notably the Ghagra and the Rapti, whose catchment area lies in Nepal.

Ms. Mayawati, who visited the flood-hit districts of Purvanchal (eastern Uttar Pradesh), on Thursday demanded Rs. 2,200 crore from the Centre for flood relief measures. An additional Rs. 40 crore was demanded for building new and renovating old river embankments.

Engineer suspended

During her visit, the Chief Minister ordered the suspension of the Executive Engineer of the Siddhartnagar district drainage division for “dereliction of duty.”

The official was given the responsibility of maintaining vigil on the Sakrail-Bhakuriya embankment on the Ghagra in Gonda district allegedly absented himself from duty. Following a breach in the embankment several villages were swept away in the swirling waters.

The flood situation continued to remain critical. The maximum number of 30 deaths has been reported from Maharajganj district where flood waters of the Rapti, Rohin and Gandak have cut off 160 villages.

State Relief Commissioner Umesh Sinha told newspersons that the Army had been called out in Barabanki district to assist the district administration and relief and rescue teams.

The Army had been asked to stand by in Basti district where 62 villages were marooned and 185 others hit partially by the waters of the Ghagra.

This was in addition to companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) deployed in Shravasti, Bahraich, Barabanki and Maharajganj districts.

The Relief Commissioner said of the 95 deaths, 53perished in floods and 42 in house collapses in the flood hit villages. A total of 1,091 villages were marooned.

In all, 20 districts have been hit by floods following heavy rainfall in the river catchment areas and in the plains. Fifteen flood-hit districts are in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

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