Patna: The flood situation remained a major concern across Bihar on Friday as rising water levels in the Ganga and several other rivers inundated low-lying areas in many districts, affecting more than 5 lakh people.The state administration has stepped up relief and rescue operations, deploying 693 boats across 18 districts and positioning 33 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) in vulnerable areas.According to the Bihar flood situation report released by the disaster management department (DMD) on Friday, the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi, Burhi Gandak, Punpun and Ghaghra were flowing above their respective danger marks at several monitoring points.To deal with the worsening situation, 27 SDRF teams and six NDRF teams have been deployed for relief and rescue operations. Vaishali has received the highest number of boats at 155, followed by Samastipur with 88, Bhojpur with 87, Patna with 70, Madhepura with 58 and Khagaria with 43.The administration has distributed 7,107 polythene sheets in 11 affected districts and 1,764 dry ration packets among flood-hit families in West Champaran, Patna and Vaishali.“In Patna district, rising levels of the Ganga have caused flooding in low-lying areas, affecting an estimated 2.32 lakh people across nine blocks. Eight community kitchens are currently operating to provide food to affected residents, while seven additional community kitchens were scheduled to begin operations from Friday,” the DMD statement said.Bhojpur has emerged as the worst-hit district, with around 2.84 lakh people affected across four blocks. The district administration is operating 13 community kitchens to provide meals to flood-affected families.In Vaishali, nearly 85,000 people across three blocks have been affected. A community kitchen is functioning in the district, while a relief camp has been established to shelter 326 people. Saran has reported nearly 20,000 affected people across five blocks.In Bhagalpur, around 5,000 people have been affected after the Kazi Kaurai-Raghopur marginal embankment was damaged over a 30-metre stretch on Aug 23 following a rise in the Ganga. Six community kitchens are operating in the affected area.Flooding and waterlogging have also affected people in Arwal, Buxar, Begusarai, Samastipur, Khagaria, Munger and Katihar.The Ganga is flowing above the danger mark at Digha and Gandhi Ghat in Patna, Hathidah, Bhagalpur, Kahalgaon, Buxar and Munger. The Gandak, Kosi, Burhi Gandak, Punpun and Ghaghra have also crossed danger levels at several locations across Bihar.
