August 18, 2014
Floods kill 28 people, maroon four lakh people in Uttar Pradesh
Villagers carry an autorickshaw in a country boat through flood waters in Assam’s Morigaon district on Sunday.
August 18, 2014
Floods kill 28 people, maroon four lakh people in Uttar Pradesh
Villagers carry an autorickshaw in a country boat through flood waters in Assam’s Morigaon district on Sunday.
Rising water level in the tributaries of Ganga and Brahmaputra due to incessant rain has led to death, displacement and disruption of normal life in the eastern and northern part of the country.
Even as National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been pressed into service for rescue and relief operations, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that the Centre would extend full cooperation to all the flood-hit States.
Among the most affected are parts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Assam besides some districts of Arunachal Pradesh. “There is a flood-like situation in the Lakhimpur, Kheri, Baharaich and Balrampur districts of U.P. owing to the overflowing Ganga tributaries like Ghagra, Sarada and Rapti rivers,” said an NDRF official.
Following heavy rainfall in catchment areas of Nepal, nearly four lakh people have been displaced so far. In U.P, 28 people have died, the worst-hit being Sitapur, Gonda, Barabanki, Faizabad and Azamgarh districts. About 700 villages have been marooned. “While two teams were working in Bahraich and Lakhimpur, following an alert from the Central Water Commission, another team has been despatched to Balrampur,” said the official.
The U.P. administration has also requisitioned two Army helicopters for rescue operations. In coordination with the NDRF teams, about 4,800 people have been evacuated. U.P. Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan said the issue about the release of water has been taken up by the Union government with their Nepalese government.
One of the largest tributaries of Ganga, Kosi has wreaked havoc in several districts of Bihar, including Saharsa, Sithamarhi, Gopalganj, Nalanda, Supaul, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga. Nearly a dozen NDRF teams have been working round-the-clock on relief and rescue operations.
Following a cloud burst at Yamkeshwar in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district, where one person was killed, a team has been despatched to rescue hundreds of stranded villagers, another team has been stationed at Hardwar where the Ganga has receded after having crossed the danger mark on Saturday. The NDRF team on Saturday rescued 47 marooned people from Raisi and Khanpur in Luxar.Parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have also been affected with the tributaries along the Brahmaputra basin threatening to breach the danger mark at several places. Landslides, disruption in road linkages and consequent shortage of basic essentials have been reported in Arunachal Pradesh.
Overflowing Brahmaputra and its tributaries including Buridehing, Dikhow, Subansiri, Dhansiri and Manas, have also crossed the danger level from Dibrugarh to west of Assam. “However, so far there is no indication from the Central Water Commission of any immediate danger,” the official added.
According to the State Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre (DMMC) reports, at least 25 deaths were recorded in Uttarakhand in rain-related incidents of flash floods and landslides, within 72 hours. The floods in Assam claimed the life of a child on Saturday, while nearly 2 lakh people were affected with the Brahmaputra and its tributaries inundating large parts of Upper and Central Assam.
Courtesy: Hindu
