Flood toll in Bihar reaches 83; 138 died in UP

New Delhi, Aug 5 (UNI) The relief work continued in Bihar, where the overall flood situation remained grim and death toll reached 83.

In UP, the flood toll has reached 138 so far.

Water levels in rivers across Asom and UP are receding resulting in improvement in the flood situation but depression in the Bay of Bengal triggered heavy rains in Orissa.

Population of about four lakh had been adversely affected due to flood in the Basti district in Uttar Pradesh.

Flood waters in township areas in Bihar started receding but in Samastipur district, several new villages came under the flood waters as Bagmati river started overtopping from its embankment near Thahar village. In West Champaran district, over 300,000 people have been affected in about 200 villages while Jogpatti, Nautan, Bariya, Majhaulia and Sikcha blocks were the worst hit by the floods.

The Central Water Commission sources here today said that Burhi Gandak was flowing 30 cm below the highest ever water level of in 1987 at Sikandarpur while it was 16 cm below than the highest water level of 1987 in Samastipur. Other major rivers including the Ganges, Bagmati, Punpun, Kosi, Mahananda, Sone, Ghaghara, Kamlabalan and the Adhwarad group of rivers were still flowing above the danger mark at several places threatening breach of embankments at many points and subsequent flooding of new areas.

Relief work continues in Uttar Pradesh while in Asom, the government is still trying to check outbreak of post-flood epidemics and water-borne diseases. As many as 26 districts of the total 27 had been affected in this second wave of flood, which had left a death toll of 24 so far.

A Central Water Commission (CWC) forecast said waters of Jiabharali and Kushiyara rivers could cross the red mark in Sonitpur and Karimganj. The rivers currently over the danger level would continue to remain so, though there was no rising trend in any of them.

Reports pouring in from the flood-affected areas indicate that people have been affected by water-borne diseases like cholera, diarrhoea, pox, fever and malaria. Though no reports of casualty have been received as yet, the diseases were said to spreading fast in certain areas of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Kamrup and Nalbari, putting the administration in the dock.

According to official estimates, over 63 lakh people have been displaced as the floods swept across 26 districts of the states, breaching embankments, washing off roads and inundating croplands over the last three weeks.

People living in the downstream of Linganamakki dam across Sharavati in Karnataka have been asked by the authorities to move to safer places as surplus water would be released anytime from the dam which was nearing the danger mark.

Weathermen said the low pressure over the North West Bay of Bengal off Orissa-West Bengal coast today concentrated into a depression and lay centred at about 230 km south east of Balasore.

They said the system was likely to intensify further and move to West North Westerly direction and cross North Orissa- West Bengal coast between Paradeep and Digha by tonight.

Under its impact, heavy rainfall is likely to occur at a few places with extremely heavy rainfall of more than 25 cms at isolated places over Orissa during next 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the authorities have hoisted the local cautionary signal number three at Paradeep, Chandbali, Puri and Gopalpur and advised the fishermen not to venture into the sea, as it would be very rough during the next 48 hours.

Met sources said squally surface winds from north westerly direction with speed reaching over 60 kmph are likely to occur along and off Orissa coast.

A Cuttack report said several areas in the city remained waterlogged following incessant rains since last night, bringing the normal life to a grinding halt.

UNI