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Bihar Flood: Mourning spread over the tragic death of 6 innocent children due to drowning in flood waters in Bhagalpur, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed deep grief; The entire area was in panic amid the surging waves.
While on one side of Bihar, the havoc of floods and swollen rivers is continuously disrupting the normal life, on the other side, a heart-wrenching and shocking news has come out from Bhagalpur district which has left the entire state inconsolable. Six innocent children have died tragically due to drowning in the flood water which has taken a dangerous form in different areas of Bhagalpur district. After this sudden and untimely death of children, there is an uproar among the affected families and even the stoves are not lit in the entire village. Despite tall claims by the local administration and relief teams, this major accident has occurred due to waterlogging in rural areas and lack of proper security arrangements. After this tragic incident, many big leaders of the state including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have expressed deep condolences, while there is a lot of anger among the local villagers regarding the working style of the administration.
The floods that occur every year in Bihar not only engulf the fields and houses, but also leave behind such a pain of destruction and loss of loved ones that one does not forget for years. This incident in Bhagalpur is the most scary and bitter truth of how children unknowingly get caught in the strong current of water or deep potholes during floods. As soon as this news spread, there was an outcry in the village and within no time a crowd of hundreds of people gathered at the spot. Let us know in great detail the entire heart-wrenching accident, its administrative aspects and the pain of the families of the deceased.
According to the information received, the water of Ganga and other tributaries has been continuously rising in different rural areas of Bhagalpur district for the last few days, due to which there has been heavy waterlogging in the streets and fields of low-lying areas and villages. Rural children often go to play around this water when schools are closed or on holidays, and the same happened this time too. While playing, the children could not estimate the depth of the water and suddenly went into deep water. By the time people nearby or family members could understand something and run to save them, it was too late. The lamps of six different families were extinguished one by one due to drowning in water, causing mourning in the entire area.
Local residents say that the administration did not put up any warning boards or special barricades for safety in the flood affected areas, due to which the children did not realize the danger. The parents are in a tearful state and say that if the administration had deployed security guards at the dangerous water-logged places in time or had banned the children from going out, then perhaps pieces of their hearts would have been alive among them today. This incident has once again raised the question as to how strong arrangements we have at the ground level for the safety of children and vulnerable groups during natural disasters.
As soon as the news of this tragic accident in Bhagalpur reached the state headquarters in Patna, there was a stir in the administrative corridors. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed immense grief and condolences on this incident and called it an irreparable loss. In a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office, it has been said that the government stands strongly with the families of the victims in this hour of grief. Along with this, instructions have been given to the district administration to immediately provide government assistance and ex-gratia under the disaster management scheme to the families of all the six deceased children so that they can get some relief from this economic and mental crisis.
Bhagalpur District Collector and Superintendent of Police also immediately visited the spot and met the affected families and consoled them. It has been assured by the administration that now special monitoring teams will be deployed in the flood affected areas who will ensure that no child or villager goes close to the dangerous water. Apart from this, divers and NDRF teams have also been put on high alert so that any other possible untoward incident can be immediately averted. However, the families say that compensation money cannot bring back their children, hence the government should take concrete and permanent measures for protection during floods.
Floods are not a new problem for Bihar, every year the northern and eastern districts of the state like Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnia, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur get hit by water. But despite this disaster that occurs every year, the preparations made by the administration and local bodies often prove to be only on paper. Hundreds of cases of death of children due to drowning in flood waters are recorded every year, which raises a big question mark on our system. When all around the village is flooded, it becomes very difficult for the parents to keep an eye on every activity of the children, as the schools remain closed and the children go outside the houses to swim or play in the water.
Child rights activists and social workers believe that the government should make announcements in the villages even before the floods occur and make people aware that they should not let their children go near water at all. Apart from this, there is also a need to provide basic training towards swimming and water safety to children through schools and panchayats so that they can save their lives in case of emergency. This incident in Bhagalpur has once again shocked the entire society and forced us to think whether we will always remain helpless in front of this orgy of nature and keep losing our innocent people?
After this tragic accident, the politics of the state has also heated up. Leaders of opposition parties have made serious allegations against the government and local administration, saying that the claims of flood protection are limited only on paper and no work is being done on the ground. The opposition has demanded that a high-level investigation be conducted into the Bhagalpur accident and strict action should be taken against the negligent officers. Besides, the demand for providing government jobs and appropriate compensation to the affected families is also being raised loudly. Responding to these allegations of the opposition, the spokespersons of the ruling party said that this is not the time to do politics, but in this hour of grief, everyone should come together to help the affected families and relief operations should be carried out with complete transparency.
Local public representatives have also visited the affected villages and assured the people of providing all possible help. The administration is now busy in ensuring that dry ration, pure drinking water and medical aid reach every flood affected family on time so that they do not have to face any other kind of disease or crisis. It may take a few more weeks for the flood waters to recede, so people’s problems are likely to increase further.