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U.P. CM Yogi surveys flood-hit areas, announces help for victims
Free houses to those rendered homeless, monetary help to those who lost kin, livestock or whose houses suffered damage
Floods caused by unseasonal October rain have wreaked havoc in many parts of Uttar Pradesh and chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who has been conducting aerial surveys of flood-hit areas these days, again distributed relief to affected people on Thursday.
Rivers like the Ganga in Varanasi, the Saryu in Ayodhya and Bahraich and the Rapti continued to run close to or past the danger mark as the flood situation remained grim for the constant swell of rivers posed a threat to embankments at various places in the southern part of Gorakhpur district under Gola/ Barhalganj tehsil.
After distributing relief material in Bhagwanpur village of Siddharthnagar district, he said, “People are in mourning due to widespread devastation caused by flood at a time when they actually should have been enjoying the Ram Leela.”
At many places, the CM was seen interacting with children who had been displaced due to the flood. He provided them relief. At Basti, where about 70 villages have been affected due to rain, Yogi said his government had decided to provide ₹4 lakh in case of a death due to rain, flood or other natural calamities.
He added that free houses under the chief minister’s housing scheme for the poor would be provided to those whose houses had been damaged. The chief minister would undertake aerial surveys on Friday too.
He directed the officials concerned to run community kitchens and said those who had lost their homes would be covered under the chief minister’s housing scheme. He said they would get ₹1.2 lakh for getting their houses damaged due to floods repaired.
The CM said the money will be made available immediately for repairing or making houses destroyed in floods and ₹18,000 per hectare will be given for destroyed crops. “ ₹37,500 will be given for loss of cow, buffalo and other milk producing animals and ₹4,000 will be given for the loss of sheep, goat, pig,” Yogi said.
“ ₹32,000 for the loss of camel, horse etc while ₹20,000 will be given for the loss of calf, donkey, pony etc. ₹100 will be given for the loss of each chicken to poultry farmers,” the CM added.
He also gave instructions to run a wide cleaning and sanitisation programme once the flood water receded to prevent diseases. He also asked the officials to ensure the availability of anti-snake venom and anti-rabies injections at health centres.
Adityanath also conducted aerial survey of Siddharthnagar, Basti and Sant Kabir Nagar districts, distributed relief material and assured compensation at a flood relief camp in Basantpur locality near the river Rapti.
“Earlier there was this drought and now this excess rain had damaged the crops,” he said while reviewing during his aerial survey of Ayodhya , Ambedkar Nagar , Balrampur, Shravasti and other districts.
Constant pressure for the past six days has posed a threat to embankments at various places in the southern part of Gorakhpur district under Gola/ Barhalganj tehsil. Residents of around four dozen villages surrounded by the Rapti and the Saryu were spending sleepless nights. Village pradhans of Jagdeeshpur and Ketan said they feared that the Saryu water would wash away their villages.
Executive engineer (irrigation) Dinesh Singh said they were prepared for the danger that would follow. He said in Sant Kabir Nagar, the river level was constant but it had increased in Deoria district.
On Thursday, the Rapti river eroded embankments near Shohratgarh and inundated over 20 more villages. Sources said 8 lakh cubic litres of water was released in the barrage near Nepal, which would reach Gorakhpur in the next 24 hours.
According to NDRF officer Gautam Gupta, five relief camps have been set up in the district. As many as 172 villages are affected by the floods while 22 are marooned. The district authorities had sent 170 boats to the inundated villages, he said. In Varanasi too, the Ganga has started rising.
On Thursday, the water level in the river in Varanasi touched 66.59 metre mark, compelling the district administration to sound an alert and engage teams to take up rescue work, if required.
“On Thursday, the water level in the Ganga was recorded at 66.59 metre against the warning level of 70.262 metre,” said officials of Central Water Commission’s Middle Ganga Division-III in Varanasi. Flooding in the Ganga has put the officials on their toes as the water level was said to be rising at the rate of 6 cm per hour. “In 24 hours, the water level rose by 144 cm,” the officials added.
The increasing water level has added to the woes of people who only recently saw a flood fury and, thus, had to relocate temporarily. “Rain is wreaking havoc. It’s the fifth time this year that the Ganga is seeing heavy inflows of floodwater. We don’t have anything more to lose. We don’t know where to go or whom to approach,” Manav Sahni, a boatman, who had only recently returned home from a relief shelter.
Divisional commissioner, Varanasi, Kaushal Raj Sharma said elaborate arrangements were in place at flood relief camps and the health department was directed to keep a watch on the situation and assist the displaced population. Besides, he said, the nagar nigam too had been directed to carry our relief works in the flood-hit areas.
