Death count in Bihar floods rises to 130, situation eases in Assam

Death toll in Bihar floods rose to 130 on Tuesday, but the situation improved considerably in neighbouring Assam where water levels in all the major rivers started receding and no fresh casualty reported from anywhere in the last 24 hours. Casualties remained at 86 in Assam in the current wave of deluge. Thirteen districts each remained under flood waters in both the eastern states.

In Bihar 88.46 lakh people have been affected in 13 districts in inundation caused earlier this month due to the torrential rainfall in the catchment areas of Nepal, state disaster management department said. After the death figure remained unchanged at 127 for three consecutive days, the count increased to 130 on Tuesday. Two fresh casualties have been reported from Darbhanga while one death took place in Supaul.

Sitamarhi, with 37 casualties, topped the list of casualties due to floods followed by Madhubani (30), Darbhanga (14), Araria (12), Sheohar (10) Purnea (nine), Kishanganj (seven), Muzaffarpur and Supaul (four each), East Champaran (two) and Saharsa (one).

Two of the marooned districts - Katihar and West Champaran - have reported no deaths till date, the department said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Monday reviewed the flood situation in Bihar through a telephonic talk with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi.

Food is being prepared for the affected population at 442 community kitchens and distributed by 876 personnel equipped with 133 boats, who are assisted by 19 teams of NDRF dispatched from the headquarters of its 9th battalion here. According to Water Resources department daily bulletin, five rivers- Baghmati, Burhi Gandak, Kamla Balan, Adhwara and Khiroi- are flowing above their danger level at nine places in Bihar.

As per Meteorological department's forecast, light rainfall is expected in the catchment areas of all the rivers of Bihar in the next 24 hours. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said 864 villages of 13 districts are now affected by floods. The districts are Dhemaji, Darrang, Barpeta, Nalbari, Chirang, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup (M), Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat and Cachar.

Altogether 417 relief camps are operational with 30,925 inmates, ASDMA said. Though the water level has started receding, the rivers still flowing above the danger level are the Brahmaputra at Neamatighat in Jorhat and Dhubri, the Dhansiri at Numaligarh in Golaghat and the Kushiara at Karimganj.

On Tuesday, Hyundai Motor India Ltd handed over a cheque of Rs 1 crore to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. The Duliajan-Numaligarh Pipeline Ltd and the IAS Officers' Wives Association also handed over cheques of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh respectively to the relief fund.