India's 'River of Sorrows' Threatens More Floods
Floods in Eastern India Affect Over 2 Million People, With More Rain Forecast
PATNA, India, Aug 26, 2008 —
Rising rivers in eastern India swamped new areas and destroyed homes on Tuesday, affecting more than 2 million people, as some frustrated villagers beat up officials and others remained glued to radio weather bulletins.
Torrential rains have killed more than 1,000 people in South Asia since the monsoon began in June, mainly in India's states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh but also in Nepal and Bangladesh.
The Koshi river in the eastern state of Bihar, one of India's poorest regions, has broken its mud embankments in several places. The river also broke a dam in neighbouring Nepal, worsening the floods, Bihar officials said.
Local people call the Koshi the "Sorrow of Bihar" for its regular floods and ability to quickly change course. Thousands of people in the state have taken refuge on embankments, roads and mounds.
"The Koshi river has changed its course and nearly 20-25 lakh (2-2.5 million) people of the areas have been affected," Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of the state, said after an aerial survey of the flood situation.
Some experts blame the floods on heavier monsoon rains caused by global warming.
Last year, floods in eastern India and Bangladesh killed around 2,000 people. Millions were affected and officials fear climate change will make similar disasters more frequent.
Others accuse some states of not spending enough money on disaster prevention efforts.
In India's most populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the toll from this year's floods rose to 721, with four more deaths reported overnight, officials said.
MORE RAIN
Indian authorities, in a statement released in New Delhi, warned of more rain in eastern India, including Bihar, with heavy falls in the next 4-5 days.
Angry villagers in Bihar beat up government officials and a politician in flood-hit Araria district near the Nepal border, when they arrived on a fact-finding trip.
"Their anger is natural since they never thought that floods would leave them stranded in this way and they were not prepared to face the floods which happened suddenly," Suraj Kumar Sinha, a senior state official, said by telephone on Tuesday.
India's annual monsoon arrives in early June and retreats in September. It is vital for the irrigation of farmland in a nation heavily reliant on agriculture.
But it leaves in its wake massive destruction, killing hundreds of people, destroying homes, crops, roads and bridges.
Some people also refused to leave their homes in Bihar and turned rescuers in boats away, officials said.
Rising rivers have also swamped 36,400 hectares (89,943 acres) of cropland in the state, as wheat and paddy fields were lying under water.
Seven villages were swept away by the Koshi river in southeast Nepal, where the river Koshi broke through the dam, which was built by India to protect Bihar.
Nepali officials blame India for failing to carry out necessary repair and maintenance of the dam under an agreement between the two countries.
At least 40,300 people in Nepal have been affected by the flooding and authorities said there could be more breaches, unless repaired quickly. Additional reporting by Gopal Sharma, Sharat Pradhan and Biman Mukherjee; Writing by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Alex Richardson