Gandak bund breaches,flood waters enter several Bihar villages

Following a change of course in the river, a 10-metre stretch of the main embankment had breached at Simaria village on the night of September 15 following which a new ring bund was erected.

The water was gushing through the newly-created ring bund since yesterday and the new embankment caved in a stretch of 30 metres early this morning following which flood waters entered several villages of Barauli block in the district, the sources said.

The officials had sounded an alert on September 15 about the river changing its course and putting pressure on the embankment and asked to people to shift to safer places.
Disaster management department had already rushed five teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and adequate relief materials to Goaplganj as a precautionary measure.

Principal secretary, Disaster management, Vyasji said in Patna that if flood water spread to three blocks in Gopalganj, two blocks in Siwan and as many blocks in Saran district would be affected.

Gopalganj district administration had been provided Rs 14 crore and Rs 5 crore to remain in readiness for any eventuality.

The Bihar government today decided to run mega relief camps in Gopalganj district after the newly errected ring bund on river Gandak caved in at Simaria village today.

Principal secretary disaster management Vyasji after emerging from the emergency review meeting convened by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the mega relief camps would be run on the lines of similar camps opened in five north Bihar districts after the Kosi deluge in 2008.

He said each mega camp would have the facility to house 500 evacuees who would be provided with food and medicines. Fodder would be provided to cattleheads at the camps, he said.

If the meaga camps have to run for a long period then the government might think in terms of opening Anganwadi centres and schools at the camps, he said.
The government, he said, had also decided to depute mobile police squads in flood affected areas to safegurad the properties of the people taking shelter in mega relief camps.

Vyasji said that principal secretary of Public Helath and Engineering Department(PHED) Ravindra Pawar had been rushed to Gopalganj to oversee the relief and rescue operations following floods caused by river Gandak.

Five battalions of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had already been stationed at Gopalganj and two battalions of the NDRF had been stationed at Chapra and one unit at Siwan.

The district administration of Gopalganj and Siwan had already been provided Rs 14 Crore and Rs 5 crore for meeting any eventuality, Vyasji said.