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While withdrawal of the southwest monsoon rainfall is making headlines from across the country, rivers in 12 districts in Bihar are facing an unusually delayed rise in water levels. The resulting floods have swept away hundreds of thatched huts, displaced livestock, destroyed standing crops, and claimed 10 lives in the last 24 hours.
Authorities ordered shutting of more than 600 government-run schools that were closed in flood-affected districts. The floods have forced Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bihar Agriculture University at Sabour in Bhagalpur and Munger University in Munger to postpone ongoing exams.
Similarly, due to the dangerously deep floodwaters, more than a dozen trains have been cancelled and several trains were diverted on September 21 and September 22, an official of the East Central Railway zone headquarters at Hajipur in Vaishali district informed Down To Earth (DTE).
Ironically, the state continues to record an overall rainfall deficit of 28 per cent, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
However, IMD has forecasted rains at various locations in Bihar in the coming two days due to the formation of a low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.
Though there is no official report of heavy to medium rains in Bihar in the last four-five days, the water in the upstream Ganga and its tributaries Kosi, Gandak, Ghagra, Budhi Gandak, Punpun and Sone rivers has been rising to dangerous levels since last September 20.
Due to the rising water level of the rivers, the state Water Resources Department (WRD) has alerted several districts.
WRD noted that water levels are also showing signs of receding at few places since September 20-21 but they continue to be above the danger mark in Buxar, Bhagalpur, Patna and Katihar.
“Water levels are likely to recede further in Ganga and its tributaries in the next twenty-four hours in the state” a WRD official told DTE.
The official further mentioned that the water level has surged due to heavy monsoon rainfall in the catchment areas of Nepal, north Bihar and neighbouring states in recent days.
The biggest challenge comes from Ganga which is posing a serious threat of flooding in low lying areas along the river bank in Patna.
Hundreds of displaced families along with their cattles from various marooned villages in riverine belt, locally known as Diara, have taken shelter at a few places in Patna.
Reports in local Hindi dailies mentioned that floodwaters inundated hundreds of villages and entered houses in the low lying riverine belt in affected districts. Thousands of people are reportedly stranded, waiting for the floodwaters to recede.
Additionally, thousands of families, who were forced to flee their houses, were found to be taking shelter on the roadside, embankments and other high places along with their cattles in Bhagalpur, Munger, Katihar and Patna.
According to the official press statement of Bihar Disaster Management Department (DMD), due to a rise in water levels of Ganga 12,57,000 people from 12 districts — Buxar, Bhojpur, Saran, Vaishali, Patna, Samastipur, Begusarai, Lakhisarai, Munger, Khagaria, Bhagalpur and Katihar have been affected by the flood.
DMD stated that the government is running eight relief camps in which 3,950 people have taken shelter and 329 community kitchens are functioning to provide relief including dry ration pockets and polythene sheets to flood-hit people from 361 gram panchayats under 64 blocks in these districts.
It is stated that 1,400 boats have been deployed in the affected areas and if required, more boats would be deployed.
The government is also maintaining 20 boat ambulances to provide healthcare to people in flood affected areas.
“NDRF and SDRF teams are evacuating people from areas submerged by flood water and ready to rescue people from flood affected districts,” DMD stated.
The WRD’s Flood Management Improvement Support Centre (FMISC) officials in Patna have been monitoring the water levels in rivers.
On September 20, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas and directed measures for loss of standing crops and to provide relief to floods victims.
Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, secretary in the agriculture department has asked district officials of affected districts to assess the crops damage and send a report as soon as possible.
Agarwal admitted that there are reports of floodwaters submerging a large track of agricultural land, damaging standing crops.
“We can say anything about crop damage only after receiving reports from districts and on the basis of it, the government will provide help to affected farmers,” he said.
An official of IMD-Patna, told DTE on the condition of anonymity that as of September 23, Bihar has recorded 676.1 millimetres (mm) of rainfall against the normal 938.6 mm which is 262 mm less.
“A few districts have recorded more than 50 per cent rainfall deficit and others report a deficit in the range of 30 to 48 per cent. This is a bad trend of monsoon rains in the state,” the official noted.
The flood-prone state had recorded a 52 per cent rainfall deficit in June, 29 per cent in July and four per cent in August, according to IMD.
Bihar recorded 760 mm rainfall against normal rainfall of 1,017 mm in 2023 and received 683 mm rainfall in 2022.
It is worth highlighting that in the last 10 years, Bihar recorded surplus rainfall only thrice — 1,050 mm rainfall in 2019, 1,272 mm in 2020 and 1,044 mm in 2021.