Signs of recession in the rising water levels in the Sone and Ganga brought a slight relief to nine central Bihar districts facing floods on Monday, but hundreds of villages were still surrounded by water and stranded villagers were being evacuated throughout the day.
The unprecedented flood situation in this part of Bihar — normally the state’s north is frequently flooded — was uncertain and likely to worsen when the 8.3 lakh cusecs water discharged from Bansagar dam in Madhya Pradesh enters the Sone and the Ganga flowing in Bihar. But chief minister Nitish Kumar told journalists on Monday that the ongoing evacuation efforts and close monitoring of the water levels would keep the situation well under control.
The current unexpected floods originating at the Bansagar dam are considered ironic because Bihar, a signatory in the dam agreement along with Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, usually does not get enough water for irrigation as per its requirements from this dam. Water released from this dam in the past three days exerted huge pressures on the Indrapuri barrage in Bihar’s Rohtas district and the Sone’s embankments in several other districts.
Hundreds of villages in Aurangabad, Rohtas, Arwal, Bhojpur and Patna districts suddenly became islands as the Sone’s waters surrounded them and submerged roads since the dam’s water discharge began on Friday.