Flood situation worsened in southern parts of Bihar with the Ganga and Punpun rivers crossing the danger level and threatening the state capital with a deluge on Tuesday. It is expected to cross the red mark at other places too.

The Ganga was flowing 23cm above the danger level of 48.60 metres, and was showing a rising trend. It was slightly below the danger level at places outside Patna, but was expected to cross it due to the increasing flow in the river.

On the other hand, Punpun river was flowing 1.75m above the danger level of 50.60 metres, with water spilling over embankments and spreading in the vast agricultural fields lying to the south and east of Patna. Other smaller rivers were also in spate.

Floodwaters from smaller rivers swirled around Patna, inundating villages and forcing thousands of people to leave their homes in search of dry and safer places. Road communication was disrupted in the affected areas.

The current situation is a result of heavy rains in Jharkhand leading to a sharp increase in the volume of water in the rivers flowing towards the Ganga and its tributaries coming from the southern parts of the state and neighbouring Jharkhand.

The deluge has affected parts of Patna, Nalanda, Gaya, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Rohtas and Kaimur districts.

Floodwater was flowing over the National Highway 30A between Daniyawan and Biharsharif in Nalanda, the home district of chief minister Nitish Kumar.

The submerged roads in Dhanarua block in Patna district. Sanjay Choudhary

Bihar water resources department chief engineer (flood control and drainage) for Patna region, Shailendra said that embankments have either been breached at several places or water was flowing above them into the countryside flooding vast stretches of land.

“The floodwaters are flowing above the embankments in such a big area that it is very difficult for us to control the situation. Our teams are working round-the-clock for the purpose,” Shailendra told The Telegraph.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar reviewed the flood situation and directed senior officials to keep taking updates about the water level in rivers, continue the vigil at the embankments and complete the repair works at the places they are being eroded by the rivers.

“Immediate steps should be taken for rescue and relief at wherever floods have caused destruction. The engineers should understand why erosion occurred at the embankments and work to ensure that it does not happen in future,” Nitish told the senior officials.

Water resources department officials said that the situation would improve slowly because the Ganga was also flooded and was not accepting water from its tributaries.