Hooters on rooftops, cops on watch: Police guard Faizullahganj’s flooded homes

With water blocking night patrols, 15 policemen stationed on rooftops of vacated houses; residents allege repeated theft attempts as families move out

As floodwater forces residents to abandon their homes in parts of Faizullaganj, Lucknow police have found an unusual way to keep watch over the locked houses stationing policemen on rooftops with hooters.

Residents travel along a flooded road in the Daudnagar area of Faizullaganj in Lucknow, on Monday. (Deepak Gupta/HT)

“Around 15 policemen have been deployed inside the affected locality, with personnel taking positions on the roofs of houses during the night to keep an eye on locked properties whose occupants have moved elsewhere because of the rising water,” said DCP North Amit K Anand.

With several villages and neighbourhoods partially evacuated, CM Yogi also directed police to ensure night security through police patrols, village watchmen, home guards and PRD personnel. Petromax and solar lights should also be arranged at relief camps and affected villages, he said.

The unusual deployment comes after police received information about a theft attempt from a flooded house in the area. Residents, meanwhile, have alleged that several attempts have been made to enter locked houses after families left the locality.

With water still covering roads and lanes, conventional night patrolling has become difficult and risky for police personnel, the DCP added. “PRV vans are being used for patrolling during the day, but their movement is restricted at night because of the waterlogged roads,” the DCP further informed.

As a result, policemen enter the affected area during the evening, move into houses and take positions on their rooftops. From these vantage points, they monitor the surrounding houses and lanes through the night.

The personnel also use hooters at intervals, creating an audible police presence in the otherwise deserted, waterlogged neighbourhood and potentially deterring people attempting to enter locked homes.

The deployment is particularly significant for residents who have shifted to relatives’ homes or other locations, leaving behind houses that remain surrounded by floodwater.

“For many such families, the concern is no longer limited to the flood damaging their belongings inside the house,” Suraj Kashyap, a Faizullaganj resident.

With homes locked and neighbourhoods largely deserted at night, residents fear that their remaining possessions could become vulnerable,” said Ayan, a local.

Police officials said the rooftop deployment is being used as a practical response to the difficulties posed by the flooding, while daytime PRV patrolling continues in the affected stretches.