Bihar flood situation remains grim; 81.67 lakh people affected
Patna: The flood situation in Bihar remained critical on Wednesday with an additional 8,358 people affected by the calamity in 16 districts while Water Resources Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha said, there was no "immediate threat" to the state capital from the rising water level of the Ganga.
He said this after making a surprise inspection of various ghats along the river, which is flowing above the danger mark at Gandhi Ghat here.
The Ganga is flowing 10 cm above the danger mark at Gandhi Ghat, over 26 cm above the mark at Hathidah in Patna and more than 13 cm above the mark at Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur.
The minister carried out an on-the-spot review with officials and found that there was no immediate threat from the rising water level in the Ganga as it is 1.82 metres below its highest flood level of 50.52 metres at Gandhi Ghat, an official release said.
The minister, who was accompanied by the departments secretary Sanjeev Hans, was apprised of Patna Town Protection Wall (PTP) in detail, it said.
The PTP wall was constructed in 1976 to protect the city from any flood threat from the Ganga.
During the inspection of the ghats, a surprise mock drill was carried out at gate number 55 of the PTP at LCT Ghat to ensure proper closure of the gates, Jha said.
Meanwhile, the water level of the Ganga is witnessing a rising trend in Buxar, Munger, Bhagalpur, and Digha Ghat in Patna.
A total of 81,67,671 people have been affected by flood waters in 1,317 panchayats of 130 blocks, official reports said.
About 81.59 lakh people were affected on Tuesday.
The Disaster Management Department said, the number of deaths in flood-related incidents remained 25 in the state.
Of the total 12 relief centres, only six centres were functional on Wednesday.
About 5.50 lakh people have been evacuated so far by 27 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).
The number of people living in relief centres has reduced to 5,198 in six centres from 13,198 people in 12 relief camps on Tuesday.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
