Flood situation remains grim in Bihar; CM Samrat Choudhary inspects relief camps

The Ganga, Kosi and Gandak rivers continued to flow above the danger level in several parts of Bihar on Monday (September 7, 2026) as the flood situation, which has affected over 27 lakh people and led to the death of at least 20 in the State over the last two weeks, persisted in at least 13 districts.

Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary conducted an aerial survey of flood-affected areas in Vaishali and Saran districts, and also inspected some relief camps and community kitchens. He announced that the government was ready to help those affected by the flood in every possible way. The government has started handing out ₹4 lakh to families of those who died.

Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday (September 7) wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to declare the flood a “national disaster” and provide immediate financial assistance of ₹5,000 crore and other humanitarian and necessary aid to the State.

Children use a makeshift bamboo raft to navigate a heavily waterlogged street in the Bind Tola area following a rise in the water level of the Ganga River in Patna on September 7, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
ANI

The 20 deaths over the last two weeks were reported from the low-lying areas of districts such as Patna, Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Khagaria, Purnea, Bhojpur, Saran, Gopalganj, Lakhisarai, and Vaishali.

Officials from the State Water Resources Department and Disaster Management Department have said that water levels in the rivers have started to go down in some places, even though they remain above the danger level in other parts. The situation is expected to normalise in the next 72 hours, officials said.

The State government is running a total of 190 community kitchens to provide food twice a day for those who have taken shelter in relief camps in the 13 flood-affected districts. According to district administrations, about 1,429 boats have been deployed for relief and rescue operations.

CM promises aid

The Chief Minister on Monday (September 7) said in a social media post, “Visited the flood-affected areas of Vaishali and Saran and inspected the relief camps in Hajipur and Sonepur. Interacted with people in the relief camps to assess the arrangements, personally served food and also ate with them”. Mr. Choudhary was accompanied by his two deputies and top officials during the visit.

“Disaster victims were also given assistance amounts, and affected farmers will be provided with appropriate compensation for crop damage. No shortcomings will be allowed in the safety of the general public and relief efforts,” the Chief Minister added. He had previously conducted several rounds of aerial surveys in other parts of the flood-affected State to monitor the situation.

Mr. Choudhary also said that water levels had gone down by 17-18 centimetres in the Ganga and that “more relief is expected to come in the next two-three days”. He added, “Government officials are keeping a regular eye on the situation, and we are prepared to extend all possible help to those affected in the flood situation.”

‘Stale’ food

Meanwhile, there have also been allegations of stale food in relief camps in Munger district, where 38 panchayats under six blocks have been affected by the flood. Hundreds of people from low-lying parts of these areas have been moved to relief camps set up in schools and are fed by community kitchens. In Sitacharan village of Zafarganj panchayat, several people refused to eat the food provided by the local community kitchen, raising questions over how edible it was.

One local resident said, “We were forced to leave our homes due to the devastating flood. We expect the food at the community kitchens to be edible, but here we were provided stale vegetables and smelly rice, which we refused to eat.”