Bahraich (UP): Flood situation continued to be grim in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. In Bihar, thousands of people have been displaced after the Misraulia dam broke in Darbhanga district of the state inundating several villages in the region.The rising water level of the River Ghagra and other streams have submerged many UP villages, damaging houses and destroying standing crops worth millions of rupees. In Kodhwa village of Bahraich, the residents were forced to take shelter on trees as the gushing waters of River Ghagra marooned their village. Many families have moved to safer places and staying in makeshift shelters and transit camps. People complained they were starving in the absence of food and that the administration has done nothing as for any relief measures. "We are facing a lot of hardships...we spent four days on the branches of a tree and now since water level is receding, there is some relief. But for the fourth successive day we didn't have any food. We haven't received even a pinch of salt from the authorities. None of the officials came to see whether we are dead or alive," said Rajendra Yadav, a resident. According to local media reports, the floodwaters had entered hundreds of villages and tens of thousands of people have been rendered homeless. Though the administration has set up some relief camps, these were unable to meet the needs of the affected families. Heavy downpour after a delayed monsoon has created havoc in many districts of Uttar Pradesh which skirt the India-Nepal border since the waters of swollen rivers and reservoirs in Nepal rush southwards into these districts.

     Siddharthnagar (UP): Rising water level of the rivers in Uttar Pradesh continues to wreak havoc. More than 350 villages have been affected in the Siddharthnagar district. Floods have been attributed to the release of water from barrages in Nepal. As a result, rivers like Burhi Rapti, Rapti, Kuda and Khonghi were flowing above the danger mark. Till now, floods has claimed eight lives in the district. Villages like Tariya, Maghuliya, Puraina are all submerged in the floodwaters. Villagers are facing immense difficulties in commuting because of the lack of boats. Roads are inundated inside the floodwaters. "We have no boats in our village to commute. Roads are submerged. We have nothing to eat and no basic amenities to sustain. We haven't received any help yet," said Radheyshyam, a resident of Tariya village. Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Coal Sri Prakash Jaiswal accused the Uttar Pradesh Government of not taking the flood situation seriously. "The State Government has not yet woken up from its slumber. By this time, someone from the state administration should have come to inspect the flooded areas. The State Government should have started the relief work by now. Relief workers haven't reached the flooded areas yet," said Jaiswal. Heavy downpour after a delayed monsoon has created havoc in many districts of Uttar Pradesh which skirt the India-Nepal border since the waters of swollen rivers and reservoirs in Nepal rush southwards into these districts.

     Pipraghat (UP): Pipraghat villagers are caught in double trouble. Hit by flood, they have fallen victim to the government's complacency. The village is among the many hit by the rising waters of Narayani River in Kushinagar district. Thousands of people have been rendered homeless. The villagers of Pipraghat complained that they have not received any government help so far. "This is Pipraghat village in Kushinagar district, which is very backward. Twenty-five villages have been affected by floods and 20,000 people are suffering from it. But the government has not made any arrangement. It has only been providing us with a boat and 2 litres of kerosene oil." said Prabhunath Yadav, a resident. People say they are left with very little food and are living on shells. "The water has not receded. We are fetching shells and eating them and there is also no help from the government," said Batulia Devi, a villager. The villagers are facing a severe shortage of drinking water, apart from kerosene oil to cook their food. The government officials say kerosene oil is on its way to reach people. "Twelve thousand litres of oil has been ordered which will be distributed to people. The revenue administrative officer will make a list of people and those in the list will get two litres of oil," said Mahendra Shukla, district supply officer. Narayani River has swollen due to rains in Nepal, where it originates. The river flows through Champaran district in Bihar to Maharajgunj and down Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. Heavy downpour after a delayed monsoon has wreaked havoc in many districts of Uttar Pradesh which skirt the India-Nepal border since the waters of swollen rivers and reservoirs in Nepal rush southwards into these districts.

Floods ravage Majuli islands in Assam

     Majuli (Assam): Around 60 villages have been devastated by floods in Majuli islands of Assam. The world's largest river island is facing the nature's fury for the second time this year as the Brahmaputra River breached an embankment in Matmora region. The floods were caused by incessant heavy rains for five days when it breached an embankment in Matmora, which channels the entire water of the Brahmaputra into the Luit River. Heavy rainfall, upstream caused the second wave of flooding on the whole Upper Majuli area and displaced around 30 thousand people, and destroyed thousands of hectares of crop. "All of a sudden water started pouring inside our house, then only I realized that flood has occurred. Immediately, we moved to safer place. Now, we have no proper shelter, food and water. Every year in this season, we are hit by the flood and we face lot of difficulties," said Chandon Hazarika, a resident. The frequent floods have displaced thousand of villagers. "Once again Majuli is hit by flash flood due to breach of embankment in Matmora in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts. Thousands of people have been displaced in upper Majuli area for the second time and more than 60 of villages has been severely affected. Majuli is frequently devastated by flood water every year because it is totally surrounded by water," said Nokul Kolita, another resident. Every year, torrential monsoon rains wreak havoc in Assam, causing the mighty Brahmaputra river and its tributaries to breach embankments, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
-August 27, 2009