Monsoon rains mount woes of Indian flood-victims

An Indian family and their home are threatened by rising floodwaters in the Saran District of Bihar, some 50km east of Patna on Sunday. Some 4.2 million people in 19 of Bihar's 38 districts have been marooned by the floods, which have washed away crops worth four million rupees (87,000 US dollars), swamped 15,000 homes and put a question mark over the future of local cattle stocks. Photo: AFP

India's Central Water Commission warned the swollen Ganges river was rising and threatening several towns and districts in Bihar state, including Munger, Bhagalpur, Kahalgaon and Farakka.

"Many of Bihar's rivers are flowing above the danger level and local reservoirs are filled to their brim," said a senior official from the federal agency that monitors floods.

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The meteorological department also warned "medium to heavy rains" were likely to feed the swirling Sone river in Bihar, while there would be light showers in the catchment areas of the other main rivers in the flooded province.

At least 154 people have died and 4.2 million have been affected by flooding in 19 of Bihar's 38 districts, where crops and cattle have also suffered huge losses since the onset of the monsoon in early June.

Water from the Ganges has entered apartment blocks in the state capital Patna and soldiers are supplying relief to those made homeless and rescuing hundreds perched on rooftops across the state.

The Aaj Tak television network said fresh areas in the Chapra district were under water after a reservoir opened its sluice gates as a precaution against a catastrophic breach.

Officials said people who took shelter on top of dam embankments were fleeing as water levels swiftly rose overnight.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency said incessant rains have also pounded the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and added that five more drownings took the flood-related toll there to 148 since June.

All major rivers in the state, including the Ganges, Gandhak, Sharda, Gomati and Yamuna, are flooding, PTI quoted an official statement issued in the provincial capital of Lucknow as saying late Sunday.

Uttar Pradesh's former chief minister Mayawati, who uses only one name, warned Monday that wide swathes of flooded areas were being ignored.

The government has so far not launched rescue and relief operations in flood-affected areas, Mayawati said in an attack on her successor Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The weather office also warned of a light cyclonic storm brewing over central Uttar Pradesh and adjoining areas.

PTI reported disruptions in train and road traffic and an Uttar Pradesh spokesman said troops were helping in the flood-hit district of Ballia.