“We learn from every natural disaster. Whether it is a fire or a flood, we learn something from it so we can respond to the next one better.”

In the context of Bihar, the above-written quote of Malcolm Turnbull seems a falsehood. COVID -19 crisis is unprecedented but in today’s world floods, cyclones etc. can be easily anticipated with the help of the Meteorological department.

Flood in the North Bihar is now a yearly affair in the time of Monsoon. Every year lakhs of people lose their houses and got displaced from their inhabitants and hundreds of people lost their lives.

Currently, more than 45 lakh people have been affected due to deluge and death toll  stabilized at 11.  However, district Darbhanga hit the most among the 14 districts whose 1012 panchayats have been affected so far.

Following this waterlogging, Rukasana Parveev, a resident of Asraha village in Darbhanga, an eight months old pregnant lady struggled to gain medical assistance while suffering from severe stomach ache. Then the villagers built a makeshift boat  and took her to the hospital.

Kanija Khatoon, Praveen’s mother said, “As the  our house inundated, it was almost impossible to take my daughter to the hospital.””As her health was become worsen, villagers managed to build a makeshift boat to assist her reach the hospital,” she added while talking to ANI.

Hospital Incahrge, Dr Nirmal Kumar Lal, said that the woman was treated and was sent home.

The humanity that the villagers showed is irreplaceable and admirable but this incident brought a hall of shame to the administration and also to the disaster relief force. If one goes by official statements then he will surely find a credibility gap.

“Our 21 teams are there across 12 of the flood-affected districts. Our personnel have saved more than 8600 people”, said Vijay Sinha, commandant of 9th battalion of NDRF, stationed at Bihta in Patna district.” we pay special attention to vulnerable populace like children and pregnant women,” he added.

If the safety of pregnant women is NDRFs’ priority and administration is looking after them then why Rukasana Parveen was suffered.

This case of utter importance has not been covered by mainstream media. There has been little coverage on the Bihar flood and the victims of the same. Besides the pathetic plight of Bihar’s people, news channels were running the news like Ram Mandir Ke Raste me Kaun ( what is the hurdle in the formation of Ram Mandir) and cancellation of Nitish Kumar’s virtual rally which is of no use.

In another story a family with their belongings and castles temporarily settled on the National highway of Samastipur, a city under Darbhanga administration.

“My house was inundated due to deluge. We were provided no assistance. Our mud house and many of the belongings were drowned. In order to save the cows we have to come on streets with few belongings, ” Mohan ( changed name) said in an interaction to the local TV journalist in Hindi.“We’ve got nothing other than a packet of chura-gur [rice and jaggery] from the government,” one of them told a local TV journalist.

As per the Indian Meteorological Department, the state received an average total rainfall of 22 mm, which was 89% more than normal.According to the disaster management department approximately 3 lakh people have been rescued and more than 25,000 people have been placed under 19 relief camps. 989  community kitchens have been set up to look after them.

The administration and Disaster relief force is working in full strength but without  any proper communication network which reflects the lack of preparation.

Early evacuation, proper management of camps, taking the help of locals, and strategic distribution of food & medical facilities can help the administration to improve the current situation.

Media, which is considering two-three prominent Hindi speaking states as India, must focus on Bihar as well so that pressure can be built upon both the state and centre government So that these Vulnerable people can be helped and they can be saved from kicking the bucket.

Written By Chanderveer Singh

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