Flood condition yet to let up in UP

Lucknow, Sep 26: Nothwithstanding a little improvement in the turgid rivers at some places, more than 1,000 villages were still drowned in the flood waters in Uttar Pradesh. Total of 24 districts, comprising Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri and Sitapur, were under threat of deluge in the state.

Ghagra, Sharda and Gomti rivers had calmed a bit, but these rivers were recorded as flowing above the danger level at some places. As per reports from Barabanki, Ghagra had followed a downward path, but was flowing above the danger mark in the district.

The Behraich-Gonda highway remained affected for the sixth consecutive day today, which according to reports might get normal by tomorrow.

Barabanki District Magistrate K Raveendra said that in the last two days, Ghagra had come down by one metre, but was still overflowing. Meanwhile, army and PAC were taking affected people to safer confines.

In Basti, altogether 250 villages of Basti and Harraiya tehsils were inundated. Nearby 250 boats had been pressed in service to ferry people.

Similarly, Ghagra had reduced in volume by eight cm in Siddharthnagar district, but was still a danger to as many as 40 villages. In all, the flood water had swamped 28 villages in this district.

As many as 313 villages were flood-affected in Sitapur district. The flood Water had now entered into seven more colonies of the district. According to Sitapur District Magistrate Mrityunjai Kumar Narayan, flood camps had been setup in the affected places, while denizens were being provided safer shelters.

In Gonda, hundreds of villages were inundated after Bikharipur-Sakrola dam breached. The cracked dam had now caused flooding in flood relief centres in Colonelganj tehsil. Over 170 villages were hit by floods in Gonda's Tarabganj and Colonelganj tehsils. The flood Water had engulfed 75 villages in Gorakhpur district, while 35 others were completely submerged in floods. Nearby 2,000 families had been taken to safer confines so far.

Three Platoon PAC had been deployed along with motorboats in the flood-affected tehsils of Gorakhpur district.

Meanwhile, the army continued with rescue and relief operations in flood-hit Gonda and Barabanki districts.

UNI