By Manoj Pathak

Patna, Aug 6 (IANS): The flood situation in Bihar remains grave as the waters have entered 1,165 panchayat areas in 16 districts of the state. Though the water level in some rivers has gone down, the Ganga is still witnessing an upsurge.

The water in the Ganga river has crossed the danger mark near Kahalgaon.

Nineteen people have died in 121 blocks in 16 districts across the state so far. The Bihar Disaster Management Department has claimed that relief and rescue operations are continuing.

An official of the Bihar State Water Resources Department said on Thursday that the water level of the Kosi is dropping. However, a slight increase was noticed in the water level of the Gandak river.

The Bagmati, Budhi Gandak, Kamla Balan, Ghaghra and Ganga rivers are flowing above the danger mark in many areas.

Additional Secretary in the Disaster Management Department Ramchandra Dua said that 1,165 panchayat areas in 121 blocks in 16 districts of Bihar have been hit by the floods. About 66.60 lakh people in these areas have been affected.

He said that eight relief camps have been opened in these areas, where more than 12,000 people are staying. In addition, a total of 1,379 community kitchens are being run in the flood-affected areas, in which around one million people are getting food every day.

He said that 19 people have died so far in flood related incidents in various areas with the maximum - 7 - being from Darbhanga. Many domestic animals have also perished.

"NDRF and SDRF teams are undertaking relief and rescue work in all the flood affected districts. So far 4,80,884 people have been evacuated to safer areas," he said.

The Additional Secretary said Rs 6,000 is being given to each flood affected family as relief. So far, Rs 225 crore have been deposited in the bank accounts of 3,75,547 families under the relief scheme.

The flood waters have also affected the operation of special trains in Samastipur division. The water level of the rivers near the Samastipur-Darbhanga, Darbhanga-Sitamarhi and Saharsa-Mansi railway bridges in this division has crossed the danger mark. This has caused the termination of the special trains on these routes.

East-Central Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer Rajesh Kumar said on Thursday that the water is flowing above the danger mark at three bridges on the Samastipur-Darbhanga rail route. Also, on the Darbhanga-Sitamarhi route, the water is flowing above the red mark at a bridge between the Kamtaul and Jogiyara stations.

Similarly, two bridges between Koparia and Badlaghat on the Saharsa-Mansi railway line are facing the danger of rising waters.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday conducted an aerial survey of the flood affected areas including Darbhanga and Gopalganj districts. He also inspected a relief centre in Darbhanga.