Major rivers cross danger mark in UP after heavy rainfall, alert sounded in low-lying districts

Some areas of 10 districts of Uttar Pradesh are flood affected and relief and rescue operations have begun, according to government officials

Heavy rainfall in many districts led to major rivers in Uttar Pradesh flowing near or above the danger mark and an alert was sounded in the low-lying districts of the state, officials said.

A villager along with his oxen crosses a swollen tributary of the Ganga river in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday. (PTI PHOTO)

Relief commissioner Ranvir Prasad said some areas of 10 districts — Bahraich, Balrampur, Gorakhpur, Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Siddharthnagar, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Sitapur and Shravasti — were flood-affected. Twenty-two villages in these 10 districts were marooned, he said.

One death was reported in the Laliya area of Balrampur district where a person drowned in the Rapti. The SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) was trying to fish out the body, he said.

The state government launched relief and rescue operations in the flood-affected villages. A total of 242 flood protection centres and 222 flood posts were set up in various districts. The distribution of flood packets started in the affected villages and 58 teams of the health department were activated in the flood-affected districts, Prasad said.

According to information released by Flood Management Information System Centre (FMISC), the Ganga at Kachhala Ghat in Badaun and in Ballia was flowing at the danger mark. Also, Rapti river at Rapti barrage in Shravasti and in Balrampur district was flowing above the danger mark.

“The districts in the basin of Ganga, Yamuna, Rapti and Sharda rivers have been issued fresh alert after the water level in these rivers reached the danger mark,” said Mithilesh Kumar, executive engineer, FMISC.

“The district magistrates and other officials concerned have been alerted through phone calls and electronic channels,” the officer added.

The Rohini river was flowing above the danger level at Trimohanighat in Maharajganj district and the Sharda at Paliya Kala in Lakhimpur Kheri.

The state government deployed teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in six districts, including Lucknow, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Bahraich, Siddharthnagar and Shravasti. Teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in 11 districts.

The low-laying districts, where an alert has been sounded include Muzaffarnagar, Badaun, Shahajanpur and Pilibhit in west UP and Chandauli, Varanasi, Sant Kabir Nagar, Mirzapur, Bahraich, Gonda, Basti, Gorakhpur, Maharjganj and Deoria in east UP.

In the past 24 hours, the state recorded 13.5mm rainfall, which is 400 % more than the average 2.7 mm rainfall whereas the cumulative rainfall in the state is 125 mm rainfall, which is 200% more than the average 43.2mm rainfall, he said.

Twelve districts recorded above 25 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours, including Azamgarh, Badaun, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Ghazipur, Sambhal, Rampur, Moradabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Ballia, Sant Kabir Nagar and Bareilly, the relief commissioner said.

Gonda DM Markandey Shahi said, “We have established 45 flood posts across the district where local officials are monitoring the level of water in the river around the clock. The district also also 30 rescue boats on standby.”