Flood situation remains grim in Bihar, Bengal, Northeast; trains cancelled

PATNA/GUWAHATI/KOLKATA: Heavy rains in the last three days triggered flash floods in parts of Bihar, where 41 people have died so far, and inundated large areas in Assam and north Bengal, paralysing normal life and snapping rail link to the Northeast from the rest of the country.

In Arunachal Pradesh too, the flood situation continued to be grim in several districts with recurring landslides disrupting road traffic.

According to the Bihar Disaster Management Department, nearly two million people have been affected by the floods , including thousands who have been forced to flee their homes.

In the last two days, nearly one million people have been displaced in Kishanganj, Araria, Purnea and Katihar districts.

"Thousands were displaced as their villages got inundated," a Kishanganj district official said.

Other affected districts are Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Madhepura, Saharsa, Supaul as well as East and West Champaran.

The Bihar State Disaster Management Department has asked people living in low-lying areas to move to higher places as heavy rains continue.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who conducted an aerial survey of flood-hit areas, told reporters that Araria was the worst effected district and water has entered the district headquarters.

Flood waters have engulfed areas in Kisanganj, three blocks of Purnea and one block of Katihar damaging roads.

He said heavy rains in Nepal and Bihar in last three days have led to the situation and the state government is carrying out relief operations in flooded areas on a war-footing.

Forty-one people have died in floods in Bihar so far.

The CM thanked the Centre for prompt response in providing assistance to the state after he telephoned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

Kumar said he also spoke to Union home minister Rajnath Singh and defence minister Arun Jaitley on the flood situation.

The chief minister said that besides the Army column (around 50 personnel) which was sent to Purnea, four teams of NDRF had arrived in Bihar yesterday and six more NDRF teams landed today to assist the state.

The Railway Board has decided to cancel all incoming trains+ from various parts of the country towards northeast region, which were to reach either Katihar or Malda town till 10am of August 16, 2017, North Eastern Frontier Railway chief public relations officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma said in a statement.

"Heavy rainfall in the last 72 hours in West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and other NE states had resulted in railway operations being severely hampered as rain water has inundated railway tracks at several places in Katihar and Alipurduar division of NF Railway," Sharma said.

In view of the prevailing condition, 11 outgoing trains have been cencelled by NF Railway on Monday, Sharma said adding four other trains have been short terminated at various locations, he added.

On Sunday, 22 trains were cancelled, while 14 others were stranded at various places as tracks were flooded.

"While many rivers in Alipurduar and Katihar divisions were in spate, NF Railway authorities have been keeping a close watch and continuously monitoring the situation of nearby railway bridges and tracks, taking all precautionary measures for safe running of the trains," he said.

The emergency control was being manned by senior officials at the headquarter and divisions, Sharma said adding train tracks were affected at as many as 12 locations initially, of which seven have been repaired and restored.

Sharma, however, said that train connectivity from New Jalpaiguri to Guwahati, Guwahati to Dibrugarh and Murkongselek continued to be normal.

Flood situation worsens in north Bengal

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today expressed concern over the flood situation in north Bengal and said that the administration has been monitoring the relief and rescue operations round-the-clock.

"We are concerned about the flood-situation across the country. Earlier floods had affected south Bengal. Now north Bengal also affected," Banerjee wrote on her Twitter handle this evening.

"We are monitoring the situation 24X7 for relief and rescue operations," Banerjee added.

West Bengal government sources said that all major rivers in north Bengal were flowing above their danger marks. In Malda district, Phulahar river has crossed its danger level, while 20 villages, mostly under Harischandrapur Block-II and Ratua block, were inundated.

The situation was similar at Bhutni Island in the district, while erosion was taking place at Pardeonapur village near Farakka.

Eastern Railway chief public relations officer R Mahapatra said that a number of trains originating from the city were today cancelled as flood water was flowing above the railway tracks in North East Frontier Railway jurisdiction.

My thoughts are with all those affected by floods in parts of Bihar. The situation is being monitored closely: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 14, 2017

Centre assures all support to Bihar government to mitigate the flood situation. Teams of @NDRFHQ are in Bihar for rescue and relief work: PM

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 14, 2017

The cancelled trains are Howrah-Guwahati Saraighat Express, Sealdah-New Alipurduar Teesta Torsa Express, Howrah- Dibrugarh Kamrup Express, Sealdah-New Cooch Behar Uttarbanga Express, Sealdah-Alipurduar Kanchankanya Express, Seldah-New Jalpaiguri Darjeeling Mail, Sealdah-New Alipurduar Padatik Express, Kolkata-Radhikapur Express, Sealdah-Silchar Kanchanjungha Express and Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi Express.

The cancelled down trains are New Jalpaiguri- Howrah Shatabdi Express, Guwahati-Bengaluru Cantt Express, Kamakhya- Gaya Express and Guwahati-Howrah Saraighat Express.

The next announcement would be made only after the situation improves, he said Rhino habitats Kaziranga, Pabitora flooded again The second wave of floods in Assam have submerged rhino habitats Kaziranga National Park (KNP) and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary forcing the animals there to take shelter on highlands.

KNP divisional forest officer Rohini Ballav Saikia said over 85 per cent+ of the 430 sq km KNP, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is under water that came from Difloo river.

Saikia said that water was also rushing in as a portion of an embankment breached at Hatimura on the southern side of KNP.

Stating that one-metre water is flowing on NH-37 along which KNP is situated, the DFO said vehicular traffic between the upper and lower part of the state through the Highway was stopped.

Despite this, patrolling has been intensified along NH-37 as poachers could take advantage of the situation, said a KNP official.

PM Modi promises help to flood-hit Assam

With the flood situation in Assam deteriorating+ , Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to chief minister Sarbanand Sonowal on Monday for the second time in as many days and said all possible support is being provided to the state.

The Prime Minister said the central government has been closely and constantly monitoring the flood situation in Assam.

"PM @narendramodi spoke to Assam CM @sarbanandsonwal yesterday & today regarding the flood situation in the state," the PMO tweeted.

"All possible support is being provided to Assam for overcoming the flood situation prevailing in parts of the state," Modi said.

Flood situation remains grim in Arunachal

Flood situation in Arunachal Pradesh continued to remain grim as surface communication has been disrupted in various parts of the state.

Majority portion of Anjaw, East Siang and Namsai districts were affected by flood while Papum Pare, East Kameng and West Siang were partly hit.

Remote Anjaw district has been cut off from the rest of the state for seven days as the main road to the district from Lohit remained blocked at several places following landslides triggered by incessant rains, an official report said here.

Intra-district road communications were also badly hit.

All possible support is being provided to Assam for overcoming the flood situation prevailing in parts of the state: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 14, 2017