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Boat capsizes due to spurt in Rapti, two killed
In a tragic incident on Sunday morning, at least two youths drowned when a small boat carrying seven people overturned near Netwarpatti under the Barhalganj police station of the district, after a sudden rise in the water level of the river Rapti, said SP south, AK Singh
In a tragic incident on Sunday morning, at least two youths drowned when a small boat carrying seven people overturned near Netwarpatti under the Barhalganj police station of the district, after a sudden rise in the water level of the river Rapti, said SP south, AK Singh.
Five other people, including a woman, were rescued by the locals. During the incident, the people on board were en route to arrange fodder for their pets. The deceased have been identified as Brijesh Yadav and Balram Singh, he added.
He said that the locals informed that the boat capsized after the sudden spurt in Rapti, however, officials are still investigating the incident.
According to the central water commission (CWC) report, the river Sarayu has crossed the warning point in Ayodhya leading to rising water levels in the river Rapti.
The level of the river Rapti is rising 3 cm every hour, which has increased the pressure on embankments. The flood water inundated the Bahrampur village near Gorakhpur city on Sunday. A total of 44 villages of the district, 38 of Caimperganj and six of Shajanwa tehsil have been submerged.
Moreover, the Rapti ravaged around half a dozen villages in Mehdawal town of Sant Kabir Nagar district. The flood also affected over two dozen villages in the districts of Maharajganj and Kushinagar.
District magistrate Krishna Karunesh along with other senior officials visited the villages near Barhalganj and Gola Tehsil of the district. He instructed the officials to deploy NDRF and other teams to help and rescue the people in the inundated localities.
Additionally, the meteorological department has forecast more rain for Gorakhpur and surrounding districts.
The district officials are apprehending that Rapti could rise further as Nepal released 160 lakh cubic water on Saturday, said Dinesh Singh, executive engineer, irrigation on Sunday. This is the first time Nepal has released such an amount of water in 50 years, he added.
He said Nepal released the water on Saturday which will reach the river Rapti by Monday and would increase pressure on the embankment. Therefore, monitoring has been stepped up in the areas.
District magistrate Krishna Karunesh and SSP Gorakhpur Gaurav Grover carried out inspection work in the flooded areas of the district. They directed the officials to be prepared to deal with any situation that may arise due to the release of water from Nepal.
NDRF personnel along with the revenue officer and irrigation officials have been put on alert. They are monitoring the embankments around the clock.
