Toll in Bihar floods touch 379, situation in UP grim

New Delhi: Bihar and Uttar Pradesh continued to reel under floods, which have left a trail of death and destruction in the two states, where 21 more people lost their lives today and over two crore people are still affected. The toll in Bihar floods, which have affected 1.61 crore people in 19 districts, mounted to 379 with 12 more deaths while in eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh nine more people died. In West Bengal’s northern districts, the flood situation has improved, but in Assam, as many as 606 villages were inundated and 4.5 lakh people still affected by deluge across nine districts where the death toll has climbed to 156. As the water was receding at some places in Bihar and many people have returned to their homes, the number of relief camps dropped to 624 in which 1.56 lakh people were staying, a state disaster management department official said. Araria district accounted for 80 deaths, followed by Sitamarhi (43), West Champaran (36), Katihar (35), Madhubani (25), Kisanganj (24), Darbhanga (22), Madhepura (21), East Champaran and Gopalganj (19 each), Supual (16), Purnea (9), Khagaria, Saran and Muzaffarpur (7 each), Sheohar and Saharsa (4 each) and Samastipur district (1). A total of 3.44 lakh people were being served meals in 1,565 community kitchens which are operational in marooned areas of Bihar, the official said. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited the flood-hit areas of East Champaran district and inspected community kitchens in Sugauli, Motihari and Sugaon in the district, an official statement said. The state weather office has forecast generally cloudy sky with a few spells of rains or thundershowers at some places in the state tomorrow. Meanwhile, the toll in Uttar Pradesh floods rose to 91 with reports of nine more deaths as the situation remained grim with 24 lakh people affected by the deluge in the state’s eastern districts. Nearly 57,000 people have taken shelter in relief camps in flood-affected districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh where there was no let up in the situation as waters of rivers emanating from Nepal caused havoc in vast swathes of human habitation, an official said citing a flood report compiled till yesterday. “The death toll in the floods has reached 91 in the state, where 3,067 villages in 25 districts are inundated, affecting a population of over 24 lakh,” it said. Twenty-eight companies of the NDRF, 32 companies of the PAC along with two choppers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and several columns of Army personnel were working in flood-hit districts in the state. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Basti and Gorakhpur districts in the state and distributed relief material to flood-hit people. In Assam, the third wave of devastating flood has so far claimed the lives of 72 people across the state. According to a Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report, one person died in Dhubri district in a flood related incident. It said 4.31 lakh people are affected at present in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Barpeta, Chirang, South Salmara, Goalpara, Morigaon, Nagaon and Golaghat districts. Authorities are running 128 relief camps and distribution centres in six districts. Currently, the Brahmaputra river is flowing above the danger mark at Dhubri town, while its tributary, the Dhansiri, at Numaligarh in Golaghat is flowing above the red mark. However, the situation in parts of the six flood-hit northern districts of West Bengal has improved as the water was receding though several areas in Malda district remained inundated, an official said. The flood in north Bengal has claimed the lives of at least 90 people while nearly 59 lakh have been affected in the six districts, the official of the state disaster management department said. Of the 90 dead, 77 drowned, seven died in snake bites, five in wall collapses and one due to electrocution, he said. According to a disaster management department report, the toll in Uttar Dinajpur district was 36, Dakshin Dinajpur 21, Coochbehar 18, Alipurduar 8 and Jalpaiguri 7, a no deaths due to the deluge in Malda district. After touring Dakshin Dinajpur, Uttar Dinajpur and Malda districts on Monday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said 152 people have died and 1.5 crore people affected in the 11 districts of the state which were affected by floods. Over six lakh hectares of crop fields in the six north Bengal districts have been affected and 1,89,161 houses were fully damaged, the state disaster management department official said. (PTI)