West Bengal team in Bihar for flood-related rescue work

Madhepura, Sept 5 : A team of 72 rescue workers, from West Bengal are lending a helping hand in rescuing people in Bihar's flood ravaged Madhepura District.

Hailing from the hill town of Darjeeling in West Bengal, the team comprising both men and women, rescued trapped villagers in Laxmipur village, which has been completely inundated.

Called in by a local news channel, the team rescued around 150 villagers from the flood-hit village on Thursday.

According to a state government estimate about 50,000 people are still marooned in the flood-affected areas. They are refusing to go to safer places because they think that water is receding and that their household will be looted if they are absent. In the last 24 hours, the water has receded by one or one and half feet.

However, in Forbesganj, the water has slightly increased as a result of a new channel of the Kosi river meeting the Ganga.

Home to 90 million people, Bihar is grappling with floods for the past fortnight.

The floods, the worst in 50 years, have forced over three million people from their homes, destroyed 250,000 acres of farmland and killed at least 90 people.

Many of the rescued people cried at leaving behind whatever little were left of their belongings, ravaged by floods. Many others were worried about their family members who are located outside the state.

"My daughter-in-law left for her village, my son is working outside.y son must be depressed and he must be worried about us," said a rescued woman.

The Army has so far deployed 37 columns for flood relief operations in Bihar.

The floods have occurred after the Kosi river burst a dam in neighbouring Nepal in mid August and changed its course, swamping hundreds of villages in Bihar and destroying more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of farmlands.

Meanwhile, the flood victims of Bihar face the problem of epidemics.

''Gastro-intestinal disorders, high fever, cough and cold, and body aches are the common complaints of most victims,'' said V K Thakur, a government doctor from Purnia deputed at an Araria camp.

ANI