In a country of the size of India, the ongoing monsoon season has once again brought to the fore the sheer contrast in climatic conditions from one region to another.
Sample this: For the first time, the district administration in Bihar has imposed section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in the wake of excessive rains in West Champaran and Motihari districts; over 9 lakh people are affected by the deluge and around three dozen people have died due to landslides and heavy rains in Arunachal Pradesh and house collapses in Uttar Pradesh. However, on the other hand, half of the total 686 districts in the country have recorded deficient monsoon upto 90 per cent so far. Delhi leads the list of monsoon-deficient States.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday issued an alert of heavy to heavy rainfall in Bihar and West Bengal in the next 48 hours.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday directed the NDRF and all the agencies dealing with flood rescue and relief operations to remain on high alert so that they are able to handle any situation that arises.
According to IMD, 11 districts including Betia, Supaul, Araria, Sitamarhi, West Champaran, Motihari, Buxar, Siwan and Muzaffarpur in Bihar have been put on monsoon alert. The administration has imposed Section 144 of the CrPC in East Champaran and Motihari and all public, as well as private schools, have been closed in these districts. This is the first time in the country when the prohibitory section 144 of CrPc has been imposed due to rain, instead of using it to contain spread of violence.
Earlier, in June, administration of many districts including Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gaya, and Vaishali had imposed the prohibitory section to safeguard the lives of human-beings during the extreme heat wave.
Heavy rains and floods have thrown life out of gear in Assam with over nine lakh people being affected by the overflowing Brahmaputra. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal discussed the situation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and apprised him of the prevailing flood situation in the state.
"Held a discussion with Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah ji over phone this morning. Apprised him of the prevailing flood situation in Assam and measures taken by the state govt. The Hon'ble Minister assured all possible support from the Centre to deal with the situation," Sonowal tweeted. The Army was called for assistance in the state as the flood situation in the state worsened on Friday . Meanwhile, one person was killed at Sissibargaon in Dhemaji district. With this, the total number of persons who lost their lives in flood-related incidents in the state this year has gone up to seven.
As per the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), as many as 20 districts in the state have been flooded affecting over 9 lakh people in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh . The worst hit districts in Assam are the districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Nalbari, Chirang, Golaghat, Majuli, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Nagaon, Morigaon, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Baksa, Sonitpur, Darrang and Barpeta. Barpeta is the worst-hit with more than 85,000 people seeking shelter.
More than 30,000 hectares of farmland have been flooded and 8,000 people have been evacuated. As many as 70 relief camps have been set up across the state to accommodate the affected. The floods have affected the Kaziranga National Park as well, forcing animals to seek shelter in higher grounds. Twelve team of NDRF has been deployed while seven put on high alert. Several trains have been cancelled in the state.
In Arunachal Pradesh, West Kameng district is the most affected in the state where eight people died in the cloud brust last week.
While incessant rains across UP have claimed 18 lives besides damaging houses and crops, the threat of flood looms large over the state following increase in the water levels of several major rivers. As per state government information, 14 including children, were killed in incidents of house collapse in Barabanki, Sitapur, Baharaich, Raebareli and Ambedkar Nagar districts in the past two days. Several low lying areas in Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Varanasi and Raebareli towns were in knee-deep waters owing to the rains.
Interestingly, some areas in Assam, Bihar, UP, West Bengal are ravaged by floods while some are facing deficient rainfall or drought like situation. The data shows the deficiency was recorded 19 per cent in Arunchal Pradesh, 15 per cent in Assam, 32 per cent in Meghalaya, 21 per cent in Nagaland, 61 per cent in Manipur, 15 per cent in Mizoram, 20 per cent in Tripura, 42 per cent in West Bengal, 32 per cent in Jharkhand and 24 per cent in Bihar.
Wokha in Nagaland followed Delhi recording 89 percent deficient rainfall. The IMD says Tawang of Arunachal Pradesh recorded 65 percent deficient rainfall while Assam's Baksa and Darrang district recorded 60 and 85 percent deficiency. Chandel, Tamenglong and Bishnupur of Manipur recorded deficiency of 85, 89 and 90 percent respectively. Uttar Dinajpur, Kolkata and Haora districts of West Bengal recorded 70 percent rain deficiency so far. While Begusarai, Darbhanga and Rohtas districts of Bihar recorded over 55 percent deficient rainfall till date, Aligarh and Baghpat district recorded over 85 per cent monsoon.
