UP: Five districts face flooding threat as rivers flow above danger mark

Officials said in Ballia and Hamirpur, the rivers are rising at the rate of 1-2 cm per hour.

According to the latest report by the flood control unit of the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department, Yamuna is flowing 2.82 meters above the danger level in Auraiya district and 2.31 meters above the danger level in Kalpi area of Jalaun district. The rive is 1.7 meters above the danger mark in Hamirpur district of Bundelkhand region.

Similarly, the Ganga is flowing 1.5 meters above the danger level in Ballia where several villages have reportedly been evacuated as a a precaution.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Ballia District Magistrate Bhawani Singh Khangarot said, “About seven villages with a population of 15,000 have directly been affected. The Ganga is rising at the rate of 1 cm per hour. The affected villagers have been evacuated. A National Disaster Response Force team has arrived and so are two platoons from the flood unit.”

He said that the river water breached a bund near Dubey Chapprara village on Monday and relief efforts were on.

Meanwhile, some parts of the Bundelkhand region such as Kalpi in Jalaun and Hamirpur are also witnessing a rise in the water level of the Yamuna. The executive engineer irrigation, Hamirpur district, Anil Kumar Niranjan, said, “The river is rising at a speed of 1-2 cm per hour. Six villages have been partially affected: they were either inundated or their road links snapped. The district administration has set up a relief camp where about 200 people have been shifted.”

He said the water level of the Yamuna in the district was 105.5 meters, 2 meters above the danger mark.

Hamirpur had last seen such rise in water levels in 2013, he said. Sources informed that the Yamuna in Hamirpur had touched its highest level in 1983 — at 108.59 metres.

The Ganga, Yamuna and Ghaghra rivers are close to the danger mark in Prayagraj, Varanasi and Tutripar area of Ballia. Jaunpur had witnessed 148 mm of rainfall, Rae Bareli 89 mm, Lakhimpur 64 mm and Basti 90 mm in the past 24 hours.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday reviewed rescue and relief operations in flood-affected areas through aerial survey.

He directed officials to ensure that compensation to flood victims is paid within 12 hours.

Adityanath also promised to find permanent solution to the recurring floods in the doab region of the state and consider projects to divert the flow of rivers.

He directed officials to provide proper treatment for those who were injured in rain-related incidents, according to a
press release.