Bihar town goes 6 ft under

Hapless Govt Looks On As Raging Kosi Has People On Run

Abhay Mohan Jha

Madhepura: The turbulent Kosi is on an unrelenting rampage. After chasing away lakhs of people from the hinterland and threatening to devour thousands of marooned villagers, the marauding waters are flowing six feet deep through Madhepura town, the district headquarters.
    The town is sinking by the hour. SOS calls from distressed people are bouncing back from a government conspicuous by its inadequacy.
    "Officers running the district control room say they cannot help,'' said an inconsolable Mukesh Verma, who managed to reach the district headquarters on Saturday after a distress call to evacuate 25 members of his family from their roof in Jorgama village in Kumarkhand block. "They will all die. They are without food and water...please help me, sir,'' he cried.
    Madhepura, home to 15 lakh, was until now famous as the home of B P Mandal of Mandal Commission and for the battles between Lalu Prasad and Sharad Yadav for a Lok Sabha seat.
    Experts from the state water resources department fear a further worsening of the situation with the catchment area in upstream Nepal reporting more than 100mm of rainfall overnight.
We blundered, says Nepal
Admitting that Nepalese inaction had led to the Bihar flood crisis, Kathmandu has promised to work with India on building dams and embankments on the Kosi. P 9 

Flood-hit villagers run to collect relief supplies dropped by an IAF chopper in Madhepura's Kumarkhand block on Saturday

Fran Lebowitz  - "Life is something to do when you can't get to sleep."