Workers Trapped in Floodwaters in Bihar

• 08 Jul 2024

Why in News?

According to the sources, around 150 workers are trapped in floodwaters in Bagaha, Bihar due to heavy rainfall.

Key Points

• The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has rescued about 40 of the 150 stranded workers, including elderly, women, and children.
• According to the Water Resources Department, major rivers, including Kosi, Mahananda, Bagmati, Gandak, Kamla Balan, and Kamla, are above the danger mark.

Kosi River 

• The Kosi is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, Nepal and India.
• It has its source in Tibet that includes the world's highest upland, it then drains a large part of Nepal before emerging onto the Gangetic plains.
• Its three major tributaries, the Sun Kosi, Arun and Tamur meet at one point just upstream of a 10 km gorge cut through the Himalayan foothills.
• The river crosses into northern Bihar, where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district.
• The Kosi carries the maximum amount of silt and sand after the Brahmaputra in India.
• It is also known as the “Sorrow of Bihar” as the annual floods affect about 21,000 sq. km. of fertile agricultural lands thereby disturbing the rural economy.

Mahananda River

• Mahananda river is a tributary of the Ganga.
• It originates from the Himalayas in Darjeeling, West Bengal.
• The river flows through Bihar, West Bengal, and then continues southeastward to join the Ganga at Godagari in Bangladesh.