Ganga, Yamuna waters enter low-lying areas in Prayagraj, residents shift to relief camps

Both the Ganga and the Yamuna were flowing less than a metre below the danger mark in Prayagraj on Sunday. The water level of the two rivers was rising at a pace of 3 centimetres per hour, according to a report.

With the Ganga and the Yamuna continuing to swell, water entered low-lying areas of Prayagraj on Saturday night, forcing residents to shift to temporary camps set up by the district administration. Thirty-one flood relief camps have been set up in Prayagraj.

A view of buildings submerged in flood waters following heavy monsoon rainfall, at Teliyarganj area in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019. (PTI)

According to reports made available by the Flood Monitoring Cell, Prayagraj, both the Ganga and the Yamuna were flowing less than a metre below the danger mark on Sunday. The water level of the two rivers was rising at a pace of 3 centimetres per hour, the reports added.

As per official records, the water level of the Ganga at Phaphamau was recorded at 83.96 metres at 4pm. At Chatnag, the same was registered at 83.21 metres. Similarly, the level of Yamuna in the Naini area was measured at 83.84 metres.

In view of the continuous rise in the water level of both the rivers, the district administration has deployed boats in different localities to shift residents to relief camps.

Additional district magistrate (Finance and Revenue), Prayagraj, MP Singh, who is nodal officer of flood relief operations, said 24x7 monitoring of water level of both the rivers was being carried out, besides sufficient number of boats had been deployed for shifting residents affected byflood. “Out of the 31 relief camps, our are operational while the rest would also become operational once affected residents arrived in it,” he added.

Twelve boats were deployed in Baghada, Rajapur, Daraganj and Beli.

Thirty-one flood relief camps have been set up in Prayagraj. (HT Photo )

As many as 131 affected people had shifted to the relief camp situated in Rishikul Uchtar Madhyamik Vidyalay, Rajapur while 70 people were staying at a camp in Mehboob Ali High Secondary School, Rajapur. Further, 30 residents were shifted to a relief camp in Annie Besant School, Chota Baghada, while six people were staying at Swami Vivekanand School, Ashok Nagar.

National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) team rescued several residents, who were stuck in low-lying localities of Chota Baghada, Rajapur and Daraganj, on Sunday.

District magistrate Bhanu Chand Goswami visited the low-lying localities where flood waters had entered houses and reviewed the situation. He also visited several relief camps, where people had arrived after water entered their houses and enquired about the facilities made available by the district administration.