Three days, 53 mm rain: Prayagraj bears the brunt; rivers on the rise

Three deaths occurred across the division, including a 59-year-old head constable, Indramani Tiwari, who was serving as guard commander at the divisional commissioner’s office.

Incessant rains battering the Prayagraj division since Thursday have claimed three lives and caused extensive damage to property and crops.

People carry their belongings to safer places along the banks of the Sangam as the water level rises following heavy rain, in Prayagraj, on Sunday (PTI)

Three deaths occurred across the division, including a 59-year-old head constable, Indramani Tiwari, who was serving as guard commander at the divisional commissioner’s office. Tiwari died late Friday after a tree branch collapsed on him while he was heading towards a restroom.

In Pratapgarh, two women lost their lives in separate structural collapses. Prema Devi, 75, was killed when a thatched roof collapsed on her while she was milking a cow in Raichandpur Pure Ramdev village on Saturday. Separately, Shakuntala Devi, 48, died late Saturday night when her mud house collapsed in Chakoliya village. The deceased, Shakuntala Devi, wife of Shriram Saroj, was sleeping inside the house when it collapsed, trapping her under the debris. Villagers pulled her out, but she had already succumbed to her injuries. On receiving information, Manikpur police, Kunda SDM Ajay Yadav and other officials reached the village. Police subsequently sent the body for post-mortem examination after completing the necessary formalities.

Meanwhile, Prayagraj district recorded 53.2 mm rainfall during the 72-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Sunday. Of this, 25.7 mm was recorded between 8.30 am on September 24 and 8.30 am on September 25, followed by 14.7 mm between September 25 and 26 and another 12.8 mm between 8.30 am on September 26 and 8.30 am on September 27.

Crop damage has also been reported from some parts of the district, prompting the Revenue Department to undertake a survey to assess the losses.

ADM (finance and revenue) Vinita Singh said crop damage had been reported from some villages in Meja tehsil as well as Dahi village under Sadar tehsil.

“Crop loss assessed below 33% is not compensated by the government, and so far no such major loss has been reported from any of the tehsils. The survey being carried out by Revenue Department staff is in its final phase and the actual details of crop loss will be made public soon,” she said.

Singh added that the process for payment of compensation in connection with the death of the head constable at the commissioner’s office was also underway.

In neighboring Kaushambi, around 35 people from nine dilapidated houses were shifted to safer places as a precautionary measure on Friday night. Sirathu SDM Pramesh Srivastava visited Atsarai, Saini and Thulgula villages to inspect vulnerable structures following the continuous rain. Residents of the vulnerable houses were shifted to panchayat bhawans and village secretariats. Officials were directed to ensure food, drinking water, electricity and other basic amenities for those evacuated.

However, the rainfall in different parts of the state has caused the water levels of both the Ganga and Yamuna to rise again. Between 8.30 am on Saturday and 8.30 am on Sunday, the Yamuna at Naini rose by 60 cm, while the Ganga at Chatnag registered a rise of 55 cm.

The rivers continued to rise on Sunday morning. Between 8.30 am and noon, the Yamuna at Naini rose by another 33 cm, while the Ganga at Chatnag increased by another 24 cm.