Bihar Flood ALERT: Due to the flood in Ganga in Ismailpur-Bind Toli in Navgachiya of Bhagalpur, there was chaos due to erosion of the protective embankment. After the boulder crating work done at a cost of Rs 22 crore collapsed, the houses of more than two dozen people were washed away in the Ganga. The intensity of erosion was so high that people had to run away from there to save their lives.
A large portion of 300-350 meters between spur number eight and nine on Ismailpur-Bind Toli Ganga embankment in Navgachhia of Bhagalpur has been submerged in the strong current of the Ganga river. The scope of erosion is continuously increasing. This erosion occurred after the collapse of boulder crating work done by the Water Resources Department through two contractors at a cost of about twenty-two crore rupees to save Bind Toli village around one o’clock on Monday afternoon. Due to this erosion, the houses of more than two dozen people were washed away in the Ganga. The intensity of erosion was so high that people were forced to run away to save their lives. Household items also got washed away in the water.
As soon as the information about the erosion was received, the Sub-Divisional Officer, SDPO, CO and Gopalpur Police Station Head reached the site with their team and started the work of evacuating the people trapped in the erosion. Chief Engineer of Water Resources Department E. Anwar Jameel and expert E. Gopal Chandra Jha reached the embankment and started trying to put sand filled bags to secure the embankment. But due to the huge crowd of flood victims’ goods, cattle and life and property on the embankment, flood fighting work was not being done fast.
Meanwhile, suddenly in the evening, more than half of the embankment near spur number nine started sinking into the river with cracks. About 300-350 meters of the embankment got submerged in water. Senior engineer of the water resources department, sub-divisional officer and SDRF officials are camping at the site of the incident. The SDRF team is engaged in relief and rescue work.
Food has been arranged for the victims through a community kitchen in the school of Tintanga Karari. Late in the evening, the NDRF team rescued about 25-30 people. There is an atmosphere of panic after seeing the erosion of the embankment.
Road collapsed, heavy water pressure After the collapse of the newly constructed road and culvert near Saidpur Durga Mandir of Gopalpur police station area on Monday morning, the velocity of water became very fast near the stairs of the temple and the under-construction Shiva temple, causing chaos. On the information of the villagers, the Water Resources Department tried to control the situation by putting sand filled sacks. The villagers tried to handle the situation by planting many trees to reduce the flow. It is known that the Durga temple in Saidpur has been constructed with an amount of more than five crore rupees.
DDC visited Bind Toli embankment On receiving information about erosion on the embankment, Bhagalpur’s Deputy Development Commissioner Bind Toli reached the embankment. He immediately instructed to make lighting and other arrangements on the embankment. There was a huge crowd of people on the embankment, due to which the situation became even more serious.
Ganga water level is stable in Ismailpur-Bind Toli The water level of the Ganga river in Ismailpur-Bind Toli has become stable since the last 24 hours. According to the information received from the Flood Control Division Office, Navgachiya, the water level of the Ganga river was 33.46 meters on Monday evening, while the highest water level is 33.50 meters.
People in panic amid erosionThe situation of erosion in Bind Toli village of Navgachiya subdivision became so severe that people were busy saving their belongings and houses. The erosion of the Ganga river was so fast that it engulfed Bind Toli village in about four-five hundred meters. The water tower, Anganwadi center building and many houses were washed away. Seeing the erosion, people were able to take out only essential items. Many people had to run away leaving their chowki, food and other belongings. Due to this erosion, the Circle Officer talked about starting relief work. The Subdivision Officer instructed the Water Resources Department to start flood fighting work. But due to the intensity of erosion, the crowd of people there hindered the relief work.
On the instructions of the Sub-Divisional Officer, the NDRF team reached there and rescued about 30 people. The DSP of NDRF said that in view of the situation of erosion, the work of taking the affected people to a safe place has been done. Local public representatives also reached the spot and took stock of the situation. The intensity of erosion is so high that if the embankment is completely destroyed, then many villages of Gopalpur Rangra block can be destroyed by flood.