Patna, Sep 30 (IANS): Bihar Chief Minister, Samrat Choudhary, arrived at the PM SHRI Government Plus-2 High School in Bathna on Wednesday afternoon to assess the flood situation and review relief and rescue preparations in West Champaran.
Choudhary reached the school premises by helicopter at around 12:02 p.m. After landing, he received a briefing from administrative officials on the flood situation and the arrangements being made for affected people.
Senior officials, including the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police and BJP MP Dr Sanjay Jaiswal, had reached Bathna ahead of the Chief Minister’s arrival.
During the visit, Choudhary inspected the newly-constructed helipad, security arrangements and the flood relief shelter at Bathna.
Officials briefed him about the situation in the affected areas and ongoing relief and rescue operations.
Choudhary said surveys of the Gandak and Kosi rivers were underway and that the findings would be used to strengthen vulnerable embankment stretches and make them more permanent.
After reviewing the arrangements at Bathna, he travelled through Machhargaon to Bankatwa and later visited flood-affected areas, including Shivrajpur, by SDRF boat.
During the tour, he assessed the flood situation and the difficulties being faced by residents.
Choudhary later visited the flood relief shelter at Bathna and reviewed the facilities available there.
He interacted with flood victims, heard their grievances and assured them that the administration would work to address their concerns.
Relief materials were distributed among affected residents during the visit. Administrative and police personnel remained deployed in the area from Bathna to Shivrajpur as part of the ongoing relief and rescue efforts.
The flood situation in West Champaran has intensified following a sharp rise in the Gandak River.
The river reached an all-time high of 91.25 metres at the Bagaha gauge, 0.35 metres above the previous peak of 90.90 metres recorded in 2024.
According to the Water Resources Department, 5,43,500 cusecs of water were released from the Valmikinagar Gandak Barrage at 6 a.m. on September 28.
The discharge remained above 5 lakh cusecs for 13 hours and above 4 lakh cusecs for 32 hours, putting considerable pressure on downstream embankments.
The Champaran embankment was damaged at two locations in West Champaran during the night of September 28-29, including Khairatwa in Bagaha-1 block and Fuliyakhad in Bairiya block.
Water Resources Department and district administration teams have been deployed to carry out emergency protection and repair work.
