Villagers in India desperate as flooding spreads

At least 2 million displaced; 20 die as boat overturns

Indian villagers waded through waters at Jankipur village in Poornia district yesterday. Massive flooding in eastern India has caused a national calamity, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. (diptendu dutta/AFP/Getty Images)

PATRAGHAT, India - Villagers were eating uncooked rice and flour mixed with polluted water, disaster relief officials said yesterday as rising river waters smashed embankments and flooded more areas in the northeast Indian state of Bihar.

More than 2 million people have been displaced and about a quarter of a million houses have been destroyed in Bihar after the country's worst flooding in 50 years, officials said.

A boat carrying dozens of flood victims overturned in eastern India yesterday, killing at least 20 people and raising the death toll to 85 since the Kosi River dam burst in neighboring Nepal earlier this month.

Authorities said the overcrowded army boat capsized in a strong river current and 10 more villagers were still missing.

Water from the dam collapse surged into Bihar, swamping village after village as authorities failed to remove millions of people in time.

Floods have killed more than 1,000 people across South Asia since the monsoon began in June, mainly in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where 785 people lost their lives, while other deaths were reported from Nepal and Bangladesh.

In Bihar, thousands of people, carrying all their belongings on their heads, walked away from their flooded homes through narrow and submerged roads. Many children rode on their cows and buffalos.

"We've lost our homes, we've lost our clothes, we've lost everything" said a villager walking along a road with his child. "We are taking our children and leaving and we don't even know where we are going."

Water levels continued to rise amid heavy rains. The water could stay for around three months, increasing the risk of water-borne diseases.

Some specialists have blamed the floods on heavier monsoon rains caused by global warming, while others say that authorities have failed to take preventive measures and improve infrastructure.

"My hungry children are crying and we are eating raw rice without boiling it," said Amit Kumar from Supaul district, the worst hit by floods this year.

Some are eating corn flour mixed with water to survive.

"I know how villagers are somehow managing to keep themselves alive by eating whatever food is available to them," said Nitish Mishra, the state disaster management minister.

"It is not easy to distribute food to over two million displaced villagers, I know their condition."

Officials said bad weather and strong currents were preventing them from providing aid to remote areas.