Bhagalpur, Sept. 5: For villagers here, saving cattle comes first in times of flood.

Parvati Devi, Fekia Devi and Rajni Devi, who went to collect fodder for their cattle, narrowly escaped drowning in the floodwaters on Saturday afternoon after a few people in a boat noticed and saved them from the tide.

The group of women from Pakra, Gosigaon, Makandpur localities were swimming to cross the new water channel, which developed after a portion of Ganga Prasad Zamindari bund recently caved in.

"We have to take such risks because of our cattle. We are getting food mostly from the relief boats but there is no arrangement of fodder for the cattle. We have to swim in the floodwaters to find places with bushes and grass to provide food to our cattle," Anandi Devi, a middle-aged woman in the group said. Since the flood this time has inundated vast parts of rural Bhagalpur, people with a large number of cattle, have been directly affected by it. Sources in the Bhagalpur administration said more than 1.7 lakh cattle have been badly affected because of the floods this time.

People in remote areas had to stay in their inundated localities while ignoring the offer from rescue teams at many places mainly because of their cattle. "We have been in this island for the past one month because of the cattle, as we don't have any safer place for it," many said at Ishmilepur, one of the worst flood-hit blocks in Bhagalpur.

"I have a house in Bhagalpur where my family stays. But I am compelled to stay at my half-submerged village because of the cattle," said Lallan Roy, a farmer at Rannuchak. Sub-divisional officer of Bhagalpur Kumar Anju said it was difficult convincing people to cooperate with the relief work.

"We faced a lot of difficulty in convincing people during rescue operations, but they remained adamant that they would not leave their native places for their cattle even if there's tremendous risk to their lives," Anju said.

"We are getting food, medicines in the camp but fodder is a big problem," said Buddhan Mandal, a flood victim staying at the government relief camp at Tillha Koti, in Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University campus. It is not only the scarcity of fodder but also rapid spread of diseases among the cattle that has become common here. According to Dr Abu Umar Mallick, a retired government veterinary doctor, many diseases are common among the cattle during monsoon, which sometimes prove fatal for the animals. "During floods, cattle should not be given any type of grass or bush which were uprooted from water-locked areas. Waterborne diseases spread during this time," he said.

The district magistrate of Bhagalpur, Adesh Titarmare, said the administration arranged sufficient food for the cattle in the relief camps. Titarmare, however, said he has already taken steps against district animal husbandry officer, Ganesh Kumar Jha, and had written letters to the officers at the state headquarters for his removal.

Titarmare said the officer did not take proper care of the relief-and-rescue operation initiated by the government. He alleged that Jha was found neglecting his duty of arranging fodder in the relief camps. The district magistrate in his letter to state headquarters requested senior officers to replace Jha with a suitable officer.