Bihar Floods: The flood crisis in Bihar intensified on Monday, with officials reporting breaches in the embankments of the Kosi River in Darbhanga and the Bagmati River in Sitamarhi. The Kosi River overflowed near Kartarpur block, inundating the villages of Kirtarpur and Ghanshyampur, while seepage was detected in the Bagmati embankment in Runni Saidpur.
"The flood situation has worsened with fresh embankment breaches, but it is under control. There is nothing to panic," an official stated, emphasising ongoing efforts to manage the crisis. The state’s water resources and disaster management departments are remaining on high alert.
Bihar Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary confirmed that a total of six embankment breaches have been reported across the state, with some already repaired. “Some of them have already been repaired and work is going on for others,” he told PTI on Monday.
Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan shared a video on social media showing terrified residents fleeing a bridge near the Kosi dam as high tides approached.
Ranjeet Ranjan urged residents in affected districts—including Supaul, Saharsa, and Darbhanga—to avoid the dam and adhere to high alert protocols issued by local authorities, “Be ready to help the needy and follow the instructions of the administration.”
The Bagmati River’s embankment at Madhkaul village and the Gandak River’s embankment in West Champaran were also compromised, leading to flooding in the Valmiki Tiger Reserve.
“Water flowing above the embankments was reported from Valmikinagar and Kiratpur in Darbhanga. But now the water level in several rivers has started receding. No casualty has been reported so far in Bihar due to the flood,” the minister reassured.
Given the serious flood conditions in northern Bihar, six additional teams from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDRF) are being deployed, adding to the existing 12 NDRF teams and 22 State Disaster Management Authority (SDRF) teams already engaged in relief operations.
“Despite water levels receding in several small rivers, the overall situation remains grim, with over 16 lakh people affected by the deluge. No fatalities have been reported so far,” another official indicated.
The Bihar government issued flood alerts for various regions following heavy water discharge from the Birpur and Valmikinagar barrages over the weekend. Fortunately, the discharge rates have started to decline; the Valmikinagar barrage’s discharge dropped from 5.62 lakh cusecs on Sunday to 1.89 lakh cusecs by Monday morning.
Similarly, discharge from the Birpur barrage decreased from 6.61 lakh cusecs to 2.88 lakh cusecs.
The flood has significantly impacted several districts, including West and East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Patna, Jehanabad, Madhubani, Araria, Purnea, Katihar, and Bhojpur.
