Bihar Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha Assures Safety Amid Severe Flooding

Patna (Bihar) [India], September 30: Several parts of Bihar are experiencing severe flooding due to heavy water discharge from the Kosi Barrage in Birpur. Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha assured that the state government is working with the central government to manage the situation and keep people safe.

Speaking to the media, Sinha said, “Such a situation has been created after half a century. 6,61,000 cusecs of water have been released. Bihar is experiencing this for the first time. But the government is alert. It will not be able to cause much damage… The Bihar government and the central government will fight this together. We will keep our people safe… We are in contact with the officials of many districts.”

Earlier, Bihar’s Disaster Management Minister Santosh Suman visited the State Emergency Operations Centre to review the flood situation. He said, “The entire teams of the Disaster Management Authority, SDRF, and NDRF are on alert mode in all flood-affected districts. We are providing relief at all affected places. We have hired many boats and also have boat ambulances. Relief shelters are also operational, and people are being evacuated. The Centre is also on alert. We have adequate teams of SDRF and NDRF in the state. If required, we will ask for more NDRF teams from the Centre.”

Floods have disrupted life in many districts, causing power outages and damage to homes and agriculture. In Muzaffarpur, floodwaters entered the Katra Bakuchi Power Grid, leaving 45,000 homes without power. Sunil Kumar, an engineer at the power station, said, “The water has entered the control room of the power grid. Keeping safety in mind, the power supply can be shut down anytime in 22 panchayats in Katra block. Approximately 42,000-43,000 consumers will have to face the problem. Power will be cut off after the instructions of the department officials…”

Residents have expressed their frustrations with the situation. A resident of Muzaffarpur said, “The administration is not active; no one has come to see the situation yet.” Joginder Mehta, a resident of Supaul, shared, “Our homes are filled with water; I have seen this kind of flooding since 1961. No one has come to meet us yet.” Another resident added, “I have been here in the village since 1980. Houses have been broken, and we are also facing a loss in agriculture as well.”