Tag: River Ganga

BEWARE OF THE WATER: 17 killed by lightning in Bihar, flood-like situation in several parts of the state

Source: dnaindia.com

At least 17 people, including men and children, were killed in incidents of lightning strikes in different parts of Bihar in the last 24 hours. Four deaths were reported in Kaimur district, four in Gaya, one in Katihar, three in Motihari, one in Ara and two each in Jahanabad and Arwal.

In Kaimur, a woman and a child died due to lightning strike. In Gaya district, one person died due to lightning strike in Tankuppa block and two lost their lives in Imamganj block. In Katihar, a person identified as Bhumeshwar Yadav died due to lightning strike. Sources told Zee Media that Yadav, a resident of Sukhay village, was struck by lightning when he was working in his field. 

In Motihari, three people, including two girls, died due to lightning strike, while a young person lost his life in Ara. In Jahanabad, one person died in Jaffarganj, while one death was reported from Meerganj village in Ratni bloc.

Meanwhile, several parts of Bihar is witnessing a flood-like situation due to overflowing rivers caused by incessant rainfall. In Patna, the water level of River Ganga rose 55 cm above the danger mark at Gandhi Ghat. The capital city experienced torrential rains for five-straight hours, causing water logging in Adalat Ganj, Kankarbagh, Sri Krishna Puri, Pataliputra and Rajendra Nagar.

The Central Water Commission (CWC) on Wednesday issued a flood alert for all the districts in Bihar along the course of Ganga from Buxar to Bhagalpur and said that the situation along the course of the rivers should be monitored closely.

Ganga overtops red mark in Patna, low-lying areas face submergence

Source: hindustantimes.com

Fresh threat of flooding has come to haunt Bihar again with river Ganga rising menacingly at various places across the state—from Buxar to Bhagalpur. It has overtopped the danger levels at Patna, inundating low-lying areas across along its way, which led to exodus of families with cattle heads from diaras.

In Patna, Bind Toli, one of the most populous helmets inhabited by fishermen located inside the Patna flood protection wall, has been completely submerged under the water, while floodwaters have begun engulfing houses built on upland in diara between Patna and Saran district.

Sitab Diara, the native village of socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan, situated on the bank of Ganga has been swamped by the flood water and the villager are being relocated to safer places. Many villages settled on the river’s bank in Naugachhiya and Bhagalpur are being devoured by the gushing current of the river. Various villages of Mahnar block of Vaishali have also been submerged due to rise in water level of Ganga.

This is the second spell of the flood the state is undergoing. Earlier, as many as 13 north Bihar districts were inundated by the swollen rivers originating from Nepal and are still grappling with the post-flood tribulations. The floodwaters had swamped more than 1,300 panchayats, affecting more than 88 lakh people due to the spate that started in the last week of June. More than 130 persons had lost their lives in the north Bihar districts due to the floods.

Prompted by the rising trend of Ganga and other rivers in the last 24 hours, the administrative machineries of the districts along the river have been put on high alert to meet the eventualities. Personnel of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in sensitive areas of the rivers to keep constant vigil and rush help to the people in need.

Officials of the water resources department (WRD) said that safety embankments of Ganga and other tributaries of rivers of Central Bihar region are being fortified and monitoring heightened in view of the moderate to heavy rains predicted in their catchment areas in the next one week.

They feared that the flood situation may deteriorate in the catchment areas of Ganga as other tributaries like Kosi, Gandak, Sone and Burhi Gandak threaten to cross the red mark at different localities along the way. “Currently, Ganga has crossed the danger level at Gandhi Ghat and Hathidan in Patna, while Burhi Gandak has overtopped the red mark at Khagaria. Sone has begun to swell after a brief reprieve in the morning. Situation is, however, not that alarming as of now,” said an executive engineer of the WRD.

A youth is reported to have drowned near LCT Ghat, opposite Mahavir Vatsalya hospital, after he accidentally fell into the turbulent water of Ganga. A team of SDRF personnel carried out an extended operation to fish out the body, which remained elusive till late evening on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the state government has sought financial assistance of Rs 3,000 crore from the Centre to compensate for the losses in Bihar and its people had to incur during the first phase of flood devastation.

Bihar: Land of Rich Cultural Heritage

Source- hindustantimes.com

Geography

Bihar has hot summers and cool winters. It has a vast stretch of fertile plain drained by the River Ganga, including its northern tributaries Gandak, Koshi and Bagmati that regularly flood parts of the plains. Other rivers in the state are Falgu, Ghaghra, Durgawati, Sone, Punpun, and Karmanasa. Central parts of Bihar have some small hills, for example the Rajgir hills near the city of Rajgir.

Language

Hindi is the official language of the state, while Urdu is the second official language in 15 districts of the state. Maithili (including its dialect Bajjika), Bhojpuri, Angika and Magadhi are also widely spoken in this state.

Culture

Madhubani art, a form of painting that is world famous, is practised in the Mithila region of the state. Maithili music too orginates from the same region. The classical music in Bihar is a form of the Hindustani classical music. Gaya is another centre of excellence in classical music, particularly of the Tappa and Thumri styles. The Bihari thali consists of rice, roti, pickle, chutney, lentils and milk products. Llitti Chokha is a popular fast food.

Chatth Puja Almost all civilisations worship the ‘sun god’, but it has a unique form in Bihar. Chatth Puja is the only occasion where the setting sun is worshipped. For this four-day festival, people maintain sanctity and purity from even a month ahead.

Plant and animal life

Banyan, peepal, and palmyra palm trees are found in abundance. The forest regions are home to species of large mammals like Bengal tigers, leopards and elephants. Crocodiles are abundant along the Kosi river.

landmarks

Mahabodhi Temple, Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Nalanda University ruins, Vishwa Shanti Stupa, Rajgir, Golghar, Vikramshila ruins.

Famous people

India’s first President Rajendra Prasad, shehnai maestro and Bharat Ratna Bismillah Khan, social reformer Jayapraksh Narayan, poet Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar’, politician Jagjivan Ram, and actors Manoj Bajpayee and Shatrughan Sinha.

Railway stations and airports

Main railway stations are Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur, Barauni, Samastipur, Chappra, Darbhanga. Airports are in Patna and Gaya.

Major cities

Arrah, Aurangabad, Bagusarai, Bhagalpur, Bihar Sharif, Chappra, Darbhanga, Dehri, Gaya, Jehanabad, Katihar, Motihari, Patna, Purnia and Siwan.