Flood water enters Jamshedpur’s low-lying areas

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, August 2: Incessant rainfall since the past 48 hours has accounted for the rise in the river water level leading to flooding in low-lying areas. On Wednesday, floodwaters entered approximately 100 houses in Bagbera Naya Basti, Babakuti, Sidhu Kanhu Basti, and Golgappa Basti. The residents of the affected localities had to leave their homes and seek shelter in safer areas.

However, by evening on Wednesday, the floodwater accumulated in Bagbera Naya Basti receded as it flowed out through the drainage channel into the river. Nevertheless, the district administration has set up relief camps at Bagbera Madhya Vidyalaya and Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir to aid those affected by the flood. The administration has been appealing to people to move to safer locations.

It may be mentioned that some houses in in Bagbera Bada Nala locality were built by encroaching on the riverbank leading to reduced width of the drainage channel. Additionally, due to the lack of proper cleaning of the channel for years, silt and mud have been accumulating in the drain, causing rainwater to inundate homes during heavy rainfall. As a result, the situation of flooding has emerged in the lower areas of Bagbera. The district administration is closely monitoring the situation.

Subodh Jha, the head of Bagbera Mahanagar Vikas Samiti, stated that the main demands of the committee were proper cleaning of the drainage channel before the monsoon and the construction of guards on both sides of the channel. He further suggested the installation of two 50 HP motors near the sluice gate to pump out rainwater into the river. This approach could help alleviate the flood situation in the affected areas of Bagbera. Jha also pointed out that although the government and district administration had constructed the sluice gates, proper and timely utilization of motors and generators was not being done, resulting in difficulties for the people during floods.