Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said 40-45 districts used to be flood affected during the monsoon about a decade ago, but today only 14 districts are facing minor impacts and this is the result of the work done by the government over the last nine-and- a-half years.
He was addressing a programme after distributing relief material to flood-affected people at a relief camp at Vidyavihar Inter College in Varanasi’s Salarpur. He assured the affected people that the government stands with them at every step.
He also conducted an aerial survey of flood-affected areas in Varanasi.
Alleging that funds meant for flood relief used to be misappropriated under previous governments, he contrasted it with the present situation and said, “At the disaster relief camps, children are receiving milk along with 26 other items, including fruits, grains, buckets, mugs, biscuits, salt, towels, and oil. All these resources have been provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
“Relief materials are currently being distributed on a war footing by the administration and the party,” he said.
He also said instructions have been issued to provide compensation to farmers whose crops have been submerged.
{{/usCountry}}He also said instructions have been issued to provide compensation to farmers whose crops have been submerged.
{{/usCountry}}Provisions have been made to distribute ₹4 lakh to affected families within 24 hours in cases involving house collapses, lightning strikes, or snakebites, he said.
Adityanath noted that he had inspected relief operations and distributed relief materials at the same school last year.
He observed that 567 families across 16 wards have been affected.
He explained that backflow from the Varuna River causes waterlogging issues in low-lying areas.
“Once the floodwaters recede, appropriate operations will be carried out to prevent the spread of any diseases. I assure you all that you are not alone in this time of crisis; the entire government stands firmly with you,” he said.
Directives have also been issued to provide housing to the homeless under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana or the Chief Minister’s Awas Yojana, he added.
During the visit, he also paid floral tributes at the statue of freedom fighter Jaggu Ram Maurya.
Minister of labour and employment Anil Rajbhar also addressed the gathering.
Those present on the occasion included Jal Shakti minister Swatantra Dev Singh, minister of state (independent charge) for stamp registration Ravindra Jaiswal, minister of state (independent charge) for AYUSH Dr Dayashankar Mishra ‘Dayalu’, minister of state for MSME Hansraj Vishwakarma, district panchayat president Poonam Maurya, mayor Ashok Tiwari, former minister and MLA Dr Neelkanth Tiwari, MLAs Saurabh Srivastava, Dr Awadhesh Singh, and Tribhuvan Ram, BJP district president Ramshakal Patel, divisional commissioner S Rajalingam, police commissioner Mohit Agarwal, district magistrate Satyendra Kumar, municipal commissioner Himanshu Nagpal, and chief development officer Prakhar Kumar, along with officials from relevant departments.
The chief minister also offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath and Kaal Bhairav temples.