I got back from Bihar, feeling a mixture of shock, fear and hope. Shocked at the scale of the destruction. Fear that all our combined relief efforts may still not be enough. And hope when I see the amazing strength with which these people are helping each other and coping with the tragedy.

Scale of the Problem

Throughout my visit what really hit me most was the scale of the disaster - the number of people affected. As I got off Saharsa station, I saw a huge number of people lying down and sitting all along the road from the station to our office. At each of the relief camps, there were thousands of people who had to run away from their drowning homes. Later, as we went to see the affected villages, all along the road for hundreds of kilometers, people were living on the roadside in temporary sheds. I knew that 30 lakh people had been affected. But knowing it is one thing - seeing it face to face is quite another.

Villages affected

I wanted to see some of the flooded villages. Our team told me that the “seriously” affected villages were still unreachable even by boat. So they decided to take me to some of the “lesser” affected villages in Patterghat block. All along the road to the block, we saw people either living the roadside or walking carrying baggage on their heads. The entire area on the left side of the road was flooded. Far away I could see many houses fully surrounded by water. Our first stop was at a place called Giruwah Nahar (an irrigation canal), where the army was still working to rescue people and helping them bring back some of their belongings from their homes. Local people praised the army and said the army boats were very useful.

The entire area was filled with water and the even after 20 days of flooding, the flow of water was very strong. Even from the road (where I was standing) I could see lot of houses completely destroyed by the water.