Bagmati Breaches Embankment; 1 Lakh Affected by Floods

The swollen Bagmati River is flooding across its embankment area near Tajpur in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district, affecting around one lakh people and prompting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to instruct a high-level enquiry into the breach and deployment of National Disaster Response Force personnel.

Official sources said that the river breached its embankment upto a stretch of 40-45 metres at Tajpur under the Runnisayedpur block, inundating a huge area covering several villages in 8 panchayats of the disctrict.

After reports of Bagmati breaching it embankment area coming in, CM Nitish Kumar held a high-level meeting with state Water Resources Minister Vijendra Yadav, Principal Secretary (Water Resources) MR Nayak, besides Principal Secretary (Disaster Management) and other senior officials.

He ordered immediate deployment of NDRF in the affected areas to step up relief and rescue operations, an official spokesman said.

The NDRF personnel would reach the site within hours with necessary equipment, the spokesman said.

Kumar said that the breach repair works were being carried out by the experts, including the engineers of the flood-fighting cells, on a “war-footing”.

An estimated one lakh people were hit by the floods, the sources said, adding reports of four to five children being swept away in the swift currents were being verified.

Road communication between Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi was likely to be affected as flood waters submerged the National Highway near Koati, about 17 km from here, they said.

Unconfirmed reports suggested that the breach occurred due to digging near the embankment last night and the river swelled over a period of time because of sharp erosions.