Floods continue to wreck devastation across as many as 11 districts in northeastern Bihar on Sunday with over 14 lakh people affected so far. Seven persons have been reported killed.
The Baghmati, Burhi Gandak, Kamlabalan, Lalbakeya, Adhwara, Khiroi, Mahananda and Ghaghra rivers are flowing above the danger level. However the Ganga is still below the danger mark.
Officials sources said the government has deployed IAF helicopters to drop food packets and set up 463 community kitchens besides 26 relief camps in the affected areas. Nearly 1.7 lakh people are getting food from the community kitchens and 14,011 have taken shelter in relief camps, said the State Disaster Management Department.
As many as 25 teams of the National and State Disaster Response Force are engaged in relief and rescue operations in these flood affected areas. The State government has said drones will be deployed to locate marooned people in the flood-affected districts.
Amidst the rescue efforts, a 25-year-old woman delivered a baby girl on a rescue boat in flood-affected East Champaran district. The woman, identified as Reema Devi, wife of Muni Lal Mahto is from Gobari village under Banjariya block .
“With the help of ASHA workers, the NDRF team helped the woman in safe delivery. The woman and her baby were later shifted to a nearby Primary Health Center,” said NDRF 9th battalion Commandant Vijay Sinha.
Magistrates empowered
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the government has given permission to district magistrates of the flood affected areas to buy boats and use drones to locate and rescue marooned people. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed officials to distribute free masks to rescued people in flood affected areas and also urged them to follow other protocol for COVID-19 prevention.