Bihar flood threat widens as Gandak, Ganga breach danger marks

Bihar is grappling with a severe flood crisis as the Central Water Commission issues an 'Orange' bulletin, with the Gandak and Ganga rivers flowing dangerously above their marks, prompting intensified rescue and relief efforts across affected districts.

As floodwaters from the swollen Gandak River entered new areas of Bihar's Saran district following embankment breaches on Friday, the CWC issued an 'Orange' bulletin signalling a severe flood situation at 28 locations across several districts amid rising water levels in other rivers.

The Central Water Commission (CWC) issues the Orange bulletin when the water level rises above the danger mark but remains below the highest flood level.

"The Ganga continued to flow above the danger mark at several locations, including Danapur, Gandhi Ghat, Hathidah, Dighaghat, Bankaghat, Mahnar, Kalyanpur, Kahalgaon and Sultanganj," according to the bulletin.

At Danapur, the river was at 51.44 metres, 0.24 metre above the danger level, while Gandhi Ghat recorded 49.69 metres, 1.09 metres above the danger mark in Patna, it said.

Rising River Levels And Danger Marks

In Saran district, floodwater passed through damaged embankments in Panapur and Maker blocks and entered new areas, including Karchhaulia, Amnour, Jagdishpur, Maker and Parsa.

The Gandak remained above the danger mark at Dumariaghat, Lalganj and Rewaghat, though levels were falling at all three locations.

At Lalganj, the river was only 0.15 metre below its previous highest flood level (HFL). The Kosi at Kursela was rising, while it was falling at Baltara. The Burhi Gandak at Khagaria and Baya at Mohauddin Nagar were also rising.

The Gandak, Ganga, Kosi, Bagmati and Ghagra rivers are flowing above the danger mark at several locations after heavy rainfall in Nepal and Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

The swollen Gandak has put embankments in Saran, Gopalganj, East and West Champaran, Vaishali, Supaul and Patna, among other districts, at risk, a senior Water Resources Department (WRD) official said.

Extremely high pressure was being exerted on both the left and right embankments at certain places, he said.

Intensified Relief And Rescue Operations

As more farmlands, houses, and roads were inundated in Saran, the authorities intensified relief and rescue operations, with 12 NDRF and seven SDRF teams deployed in the district, the Disaster Management Department (DMD) said in a statement.

Additional teams have been mobilised from Bettiah, Gopalganj, Bhagalpur, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur and East Champaran as floodwaters spread to new areas, it said.

More than 3,000 ration packets have already been air-dropped by IAF helicopters in flood-affected areas, while over 5,000 more packets are expected to be dropped by the evening, it added.

The 12 NDRF teams, comprising 360 trained personnel, are operating with more than 50 boats. The SDRF teams have over 140 trained personnel and over 36 boats, the department said.

Relief supplies are also being rushed to Saran from across the state, it said.

The district administration is monitoring the situation and coordinating relief distribution, rescue operations and the availability of essential services in affected areas, the statement said.

Meanwhile, in Muzaffarpur, 12 deer swept away by the swollen Gandak river were rescued by villagers near Paru, with Forest Department officials, led by rescue in-charge Nitin Chandra, completing the operation.