Water almost touches the bridge across the river Sariswa. Picture by Jai Prakash

Motihari, July 5: The district magistrate of East Champaran, Abhijit Sinha, today directed the executive engineer of the irrigation department to submit an updated report on the repair of embankments in the district within a week.

Sinha issued the directive in a meeting on preparation for flood management at the Radha Krishnan Bhavan. The district magistrate also expressed his concern over the incomplete reports submitted by the education, police, health and different wings of the engineering department. The heads of these departments were present in the review meeting.

The district magistrate warned the civil surgeon for the delay in purchasing medicines of snakebite, which fall under important and essential preparations for fighting the calamities related with flood.

“It is essential that drugs required in cases of snakebite are available in a hospital, especially during the monsoons,” Sinha said.

The district magistrate asked the circle officers to report immediately about erosion in villages that fall under their jurisdiction. He told them he would stop payment of salaries of all officials concerned if their data based report failed to reach his office by the end of this week.

While the district administration was gearing up to face the flood situation, the stagnant water-level of the Gandak river over the past two days in Bagaha area resulted in receding of water in several villages.

The sub-divisional magistrate of Bagaha, Rajiv Ranjan, has asked the block development officers of the flood prone blocks to keep a constant vigil on the places in diara and Gandak areas.

The rising water level disrupted the meter gauge train service between Narkatiaganj and Raxaul since last evening. The water almost touched the track.

The divisional railway manager of Samastipur, Satya Prakash Tripathi, visited Bagaha and Narkatiaganj railway stations with several technical and non-technical officials on Tuesday to take stock of the situation.

Tripathi said: “The movement of trains on the Narkatiaganj-Raxaul route would be restored only after the water level receded and technical clearance was given by the experts.

Meanwhile, water has seeped in some low-lying areas along Sariswa and Tilawe rivers under Raxaul municipal area, including Sunderpur mohalla.