Patna: The flood situation in north Bihar worsened on Thursday as the swollen Gandak breached embankments at two more points in Saran and Muzaffarpur, taking the total breaches in Champaran and Saran to eight in four days. More than 200 villages have been inundated and standing paddy and other kharif crops damaged, prompting the state govt to step up rescue and relief operations. The six Gandak basin districts of West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, Saran and Vaishali remained under close watch.Two Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers made two sorties from near the state hangar at Patna airport to airdrop dry ration packets among flood-affected people in Panapur block of Saran, where the breach in the Saran embankment flooded villages and cropland in three panchayats.The packets, prepared at Patna, contained gram, sattu, chura, sugar, ORS, matchboxes and candles, among other items. The relief was arranged after the administration assessed the impact of the breach and the need for immediate supplies in affected villages.The choppers had earlier been mobilised from Gorakhpur airbase, disaster management department principal secretary Santosh Kumar Mall said. Chief secretary Pratyaya Amrit and Mall cleared the sorties.The Gandak was flowing above its highest flood level (HFL) in Gopalganj, Saran and Vaishali. In Saran, floodwaters breached the right Saran embankment in Panapur block, inundating Satjoda, Karchhulia and Bhagwanpur panchayats and damaging paddy crops. Houses in a village were also swallowed by floodwaters.Another breach occurred in the ring bund protecting the Tirhut main embankment in Sahebganj block of Muzaffarpur. Floodwaters also overtopped the 74-km Muzaffarpur-Chapra NH-722 at several points.In Vaishali, pressure from the Gandak threatened the ring bund near Pirapur village in Lalganj block on Wednesday evening. Vaishali DM Varsha Singh camped there overnight, while engineers and officials plugged the seepage by 4am Thursday.The rising Ganga has compounded the situation, with backflow into the Gandak slowing its fall. WRD said the Ganga was rising from Digha to Kahalgaon, flowing 1.07 metres above danger level at Gandhi Ghat and 80cm above it at Hathidah, around 125km from Patna.CM Samrat Choudhary inspected the rising Ganga from J P Ganga Path with senior officials, including his secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh, Kundan Kumar and SSP Kartikeya K Sharma. He directed officials and engineers to remain on highest alert for 48 hours and ensure rescue of marooned people and supply of relief. He said IAF support had been requisitioned.Farmers, particularly in West Champaran, demanded prompt assessment of crop and other damage and distribution of relief material. They said standing crops had suffered extensive damage and sought early compensation.
