Click to play videoNew Delhi: The floodwaters are beginning to recede in some areas of Bihar, but 16 of its 37 districts are still submerged, officials said on Monday.
Ten more Army columns, 100 boats, and three more helicopters have been deployed for the rescue mission.
However, for the flood victims, all these efforts may be of little help.
Dinesh Yadav, a flood victim of Madhepura District — one of the worst hit areas — said, “They were only rescuing those in the water. I pleaded with them, saying I'm handicapped.”
Dinesh Yadav may have been lucky, but millions today have their fate floating in the floodwaters of Bihar.
As the flood sweeps village after village, and survivors battle for their lives, government agencies are also struggling to swim through to arrive at the correct numbers.
"It’s too early to make an assessment," Director, ADRI, Shaibal Gupta, says.
As on August 31, official death toll stands at 54. However, reports coming from the ground suggest at least 2000 have lost their lives so far.
According to Disaster Management Division Ministry Of Home Affairs records, over 30 lakh people have been affected in 1704 villages in 16 districts of North Bihar.
But the official reports say that so far only 3,78,000 people have been evacuated.
The NGOs working in rescue and relief operations have startling statistics that reflect the magnitude of the task before them.
According to a conservative estimate, currently there 2036 boats in Bihar on a rescue mission to save 25 lakh people.
It is, therefore, estimated that the state needs at least five times the number of boats currently available.
The state government is completely clueless on how to make up for this crucial shortage.
The state of the relief camps is even worse.
The state government has set up 182 relief camps, which are accommodating 1,14,278 people. There is a shortfall of over 300 relief camps for the evacuees.
Far from the ground zero, the National Disaster Management Agency, set up three years back to manage such natural calamities, runs from a hotel in Delhi. The organization, perhaps, has been a let down in tackling the crisis.
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