Patna reels under floods

A waterlogged road following heavy rainfalls in Patna on September 30.

Patna has been under several feet of water since September 28 following heavy rains and the rising water table in the Ganga.

However, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, popularly known as “sushasan babu” (Mr Good Governance), has brazened it out by blaming climate change and astrology instead of accepting responsibility and focusing on relief and rehabilitation.

The Bihar government’s campaign for the return of Nitish Kumar as Chief Minister with the catchline “Nitish to theek hai” (Nitish is fine) now lies submerged.

Patna is under water because all the exit points are flooded and the nullahs are choked.

Until the time of this report, the desired level of action on the part of administration to rescue people and reach relief to inundated areas was missing.

Angry people, hungry and thirsty for days, forced to live with the stinking slush in their houses, lashed out at the government. To make matter worse, water pumps were not functional and relief boats were lying idle for want of diesel.

Patna has not seen such a deluge since the epic 1975 flood when the water level remained 7-8 feet high for almost a fortnight

Furious residents nearly mobbed Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan when they visited the city five days after the floods. 

 

Posh areas such as Patliputra Colony, Bailey Road, and Rajendra Nagar, where the city’s high and mighty live, have also been badly hit.

Pictures of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi in a shirt and shorts, sitting on the road with suitcases and bags along with his family, portrayed the dismal state of affairs.

Sporadic and random rescue and relief efforts started becoming visible on day five, October 1, but the main worry of the people now is the water level, which has not receded despite the rain having stopped.

“What worries me is that diseases would strike now. Even before the flood, cases of dengue were rampant in the city. Now God knows what will strike us,” said V.D. Tripathi, a resident of Patel Nagar in Patna. His ground floor house has been knee-deep in water since September 29.

Hospitals are inundated and, with garbage strewn all around, have literally become death zones.