Flood condition improves, diseases grip UPites

Lucknow, Aug 6 (UNI) The overall flood situation showed some signs of improvement in the affected areas even as heavy rainfall upshots gave way to mosquito-borne diseases in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

According to reports from Gorakhpur, Diarrhoea, vector-borne menace Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Jaundice have entered the flood affected villages.

Fatal JE has so far claimed 118 lives in eastern UP alone.

Official sources said since January 1 this year, 592 JE patients had been admitted to the Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur, of which 118, including 14 from Bihar and two from Nepal, succumbed.

Last year, the killer disease had claimed almost 1,000 lives in UP alone.

The mosquito menace is maximum from June to September.

The district administration has swung into action and started sprinkling insecticides. The flood-water has engulfed 811 villages, of which 202 were inundated in the Gorakhpur division. No village was under flood threat in Kushinagar.

Besides, excess water has destroyed thousands hectares of land.

Meanwhile, the receding rivers continued to pose pressure on the dams.

As per the Central Water Commission (CWC) reports, river Sharda was overflowing 29 cm in Paliyakala (Lakhimpur Kheri), while the river was just 9 cm above the red mark in Shardanagar.

Ghagra was 6 cm above the danger level in Elginbridge (Barabanki) and 12 cm above the red mark in Turtipar (Ballia). Saryu was recorded flowing only 2 cm above the danger level in Ayodhya.

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