Millions battle floods in east

The flood situation in Bihar and Assam worsened as 36 people lost their lives while over 1 crore remain affected in the deluge that has battered rail and road networks, and forced lakhs out of their inundated homes into relief camps.

Bihar recorded 26 more deaths, taking the toll to 98. The deluge has affected nearly 93 lakh people in 15 districts.

The toll due to the floods triggered by rains in Nepal and northern parts of the state was 72 on Wednesday, and 73.44 lakh people in 14 districts were hit. Saharsa was the latest district to be affected, officials said.

The health department launched a toll-free number, 104.

Food packets are being air-dropped in inundated areas and also being supplied through panchayats.

Principal Secretary (Health and Education) R K Mahajan said examination in Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, which was scheduled to begin on Friday has been postponed.

Principal Secretary (Road Construction) Amrit Lal Meena said 124 roads, including national highways, are damaged.

In Assam, the flood situation remained very critical as 10 more people lost their lives, while 31.55 lakh are still affected in 24 districts.

With Thursday’s deaths, the toll in the third wave of floods in the state rose to 49. The overall death figure in this year’s flood in Assam is 133.

Authorities said they are running 602 relief camps and distribution centres in 21 districts, where 1,01,035 people have taken shelter.

Vast forest areas in the Kaziranga National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Lawkhua wildlife sanctuary are under the flood waters.

In Uttar Pradesh, too, at least 15 people have died due to flooding in Balrampur and Bahraich districts over the past three days, officials said.

Barabanki, Gonda, Siddharth Nagar, Mahrajganj, Balrampur and Bahraich districts are reeling under floods following heavy rain.

Track submerged
Railway tracks at different places in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam have been submerged for the past several days, affecting the connectivity of the Northeastern states and north Bengal with the rest of the country.

The passenger train connectivity from Kolkata to destinations in North Bengal and Assam remained suspended for the fifth day.

The Met department has forecast that sub-Himalayan districts of the state, which have been affected by floods owing to very heavy rain since last week, are likely to receive one or two spells of rain in the next couple of days.

Odisha is also likely to further receive heavy rainfall on Friday, the Met office said.

Sunny in Delhi
It was a hot and sunny day in the national capital with the maximum temperature settling at 37.2 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season’s average. The humidity levels oscillated between 71% and 46%.

Hot and humid weather conditions prevailed in Punjab and Haryana as well.

Dry weather conditions prevailed in most parts of Himachal Pradesh, too, as the monsoon weakened.

Barring Dharamsala, Jogindernagar and Palampur which received 13 mm, 11 mm and 2 mm rainfall, respectively, the weather remained dry across the state.