The spectre of a repetition of the 2008 Kosi tragedy loomed larger on Bihar as the overflowing Gandak river’s waters gushed into over a dozen villages in the north-western Gopalganj district early on Sunday after Nepal released over two lakh cusecs of water into the river.
The Bihar government stepped up emergency relief measures by deciding to set up more rehabilitation camps for hundreds of villagers continuing to flee their homes, sources said.
Water resources authorities in Nepal, from where the mighty Gandak flows into the state, did not warn their Bihar counterparts before releasing the waters following heavy rains in the tiny Himalayan nation.
At a top-level emergency meeting of disaster management department officials in Patna on Sunday, it was decided that bigger rehabilitation camps with capabilities of housing at least 2,500 homeless people each would be set up in each block of the three districts to augment recent efforts for rehabilitation. An amount of `19 crore has already been provided to Gopalganj and Siwan to ensure safety of the affected people.
Eight battalions of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) with rescue boats ready have already been deployed in Gopalganj, Chapra and Siwan following Thursday’s breach that flooded large swathes.
The principal secretary of Bihar’s public health and engineering department, Ravindra Pawar, was asked to rush to Gopalganj to ensure relief and rehabilitation measures were being implemented well, said Vyasjee, the principal secretary of Bihar’s disaster management department. Besides, Chapra district magistrate, B. Rajendra, was appointed the special DM for Gopalganj to oversee the flood-safety work.