Though Bihar is one such state that struggles with floods every year, this year it is facing the double whammy of both devastating floods and deadly coronavirus. More than 8 lakh people are affected by the severe floods in Bihar. The situation has worsened in over 10 districts along the border with Nepal.
One of the reasons for the massive flood this year is the continuous downpour of the monsoon. This has caused damage to the catchment areas along the Nepal border. The districts that are badly affected are – West Champaran, East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Supaul, Kishanganj, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Khagaria and Gopalganj.
All the rivers that enter Bihar from Nepal are flowing way above the danger mark. As many as 426 panchayats under 64 blocks were affected in these districts.
As pf now, there are 13 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and eight of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) that are involved in rescue operations. As many as 36,448 people have been evacuated from the flooded areas so far. Additionally, over 14,000 people have been lodged at 28 relief camps set across the affected districts, whereas almost 80,000 were being fed at 192 community kitchens.
While the government missionaries are at work to safeguard the affected people, the opposition is busy politicizing the natural calamity. On Thursday, July 23, Tejashwi Yadav toured some of the flood-affected areas. On the other hand, in East Champaran, state minister for tourism and culture Pramod Kumar, who is also the BJP MLA from district headquarters Motihari, conducted a tour of the flood-hit areas along with local party office-bearers and Deputy Collector Megha Kashyap.
“It is the Nitish Kumar government’s stated policy that those affected by disasters have the first claim on the state’s resources. People’s need for food and shelter will be duly taken care of until nature’s fury subsides. All the affected people will also get cash assistance of Rs 6,000 each,” the minister said.
