Flood claims 11 lives in Sitamarhi dist

Arun Lata Sharma

Sitamarhi : The flood has claimed 11 lives in Sitamarhi district since August 12, 2017, while a dozen persons are reported missing. Three feet deep floodwater is flowing at Bairgania and Parihar block headquarters. Bagmati river embankment has beached at four places in Sitamarhi district.

The rescue teams fished out body of an unidentified man on August 15 from river Lakhandei. The NDRF team has also recovered body of Md. Khushubuddin, 20, near village Bedaul under Runnisaidpur block on August 15. He was a resident of the same village. Hari Rai, Archana Kumari and Shanti Devi, all members of the same family, drowned to death in the flood water on August 15 while crossing a rivulet under Baura-Wajitpur Panchayat under Pupri Sub – division in the district.
The incessant rain for the last one week and flood have wreaked havoc in the district. More than a dozen embankments have breached in the flood resulting in loss of human lives and cattle heads besides damage to property and crops. Heavy rain in Nepal has added to miseries of the flood affected people. Such a devastating flood has hit Sitamarhi district after a few years. Even the disaster management department was not fully prepared to deal with this situation, claimed  sociologist Prof Ravindra Sinha. Only NH 107, which runs from Hajipur in Vaishali to Sonbarsa in Sitamarhi, is operational in the district. The links to all the block headquarters have been snapped.  The rail services has been affected.
The NDRF rescue teams are working round the clock under the leadership
of Deputy Commandant (operations) B K Tiwary. Sitamarhi DM Rajiv Raushan
visited flood affected areas extensively in the flood affected areas during last five days and
monitoring relief and rehabilitation centers. Altogether 150 relief and rehabilitation centres have been set up in the district since August 15. Urban development minister Suresh Kumar Sharma and Cooperative minister Rana Randhir Singh have visited several inundatedvillages in the district in last two days.

The affected population has several grievances against the local administration. One Babita Devi of Bhada Dih village said that she was still awaiting relief materials. A Sursand resident Upendra Singh said that the disaster management department has not done its home work. Dhiraj Jha of village Kachor suggested the administration that distribution of Chura-Gur is not enough. Kaushal Kishore Singh, a native of village Singrahia, said that the flood need permanent solution. Manpur Ratnawali
resident Phekan is thoroughly dissatisfied with relief operation. ” We have lost everything, they are distributing peanuts, ” he alleged.