Caritas India and Catholic Relief Services launch relief operations for Bihar Floods
Patna: Flooding in India’s eastern state of Bihar, caused by incessant rain and release of water from upstream Nepal, has killed more than 40 people and affected an estimated 6.5 million inhabitants.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated and more that 85,000 people are now in emergency relief camps. Nearly 3 million people were affected alone in three worst-hit districts of Kishanganj, Araria, Purnea and Katihar, said a state official.
The overflowing Gandak River, which originates in Nepal, has also cut off several Catholic institutions, including a Jesuit school.
“We are feeding the 260 residents in our hostel with the little stock of grain that we have,” said Jesuit Father Saji Mathew, principal of St. Xavier’s High School in the small town of Gaunaha.
“If the situation doesn’t improve in a day or two, we will be in deep trouble.”
Natural disaster rescue personnel have been deployed amid reports of deaths and destruction in various districts of northern Bihar. Officials said most deaths were due to electrocution and drowning.
Reports of death and destruction of houses are pouring in from various districts of north Bihar, said the State Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar.
Three children were reported to have been washed away by floodwaters in the village Meghauli.
Communication links, as well as transportation of people and goods, has been disrupted.
Several convents and mission centers have also been isolated. “We are engulfed by water on all sides,” said Sister Lisa, superior of the Canossian convent in Lauria.
Church groups are preparing to launch relief operations, said Father Henry Fernando, social action coordinator of Bettiah Diocese.
This included a report for church aid agencies such as Caritas India and the Indian office of Catholic Relief Services.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who made an aerial survey of the affected region, pledged to mobilize all available resources to mitigate suffering. “It is really alarming,” Kumar said.
Source: UCAN
