Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath reviews relief, rescue works in flood-hit Ghazipur, Ballia districts

LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath undertook an aerial survey of the flood affected areas of Ghazipur and Ballia districts on Friday.
Currently, more than 600 villages in 24 UP districts are affected by floods. Additional chief secretary Navneet Sehgal said that the flooding in UP was not due to excessive rainfall but because states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana had released additional water in the Ganga, Yamuna, Chambal and Betwa rivers.
In Ghazipur, 1.5 lakh people in 32 villages are affected by floods. In Ballia, more than 1.4 lakh people in 112 villages have been affected by floods due to high water levels in the Ganga, Saryu and Tons rivers.
After the aerial survey, the CM met with families hit by floods. At Ghazipur, the CM interacted with 186 families at a relief camp and distributed relief material and food packets among them.
Thereafter, he held a meeting with public representatives and local administration and reviewed the arrangements made for relief and rescue work. He directed officials to review each flood affected village and asked the chief medical officer to ensure that sufficient medicines are available in all villages. “The CM said that as soon as the flood waters recede, sanitation should start in all the villages. He has also said that teams of SDRF, NDRF and PAC should be deputed in flood affected areas so that there is no delay in rescue and relief operations. A nodal officer should be deputed for each flood hit village,” a government spokesperson said.
In Ghazipur, the flood level had been stable since Thursday night and by Friday, had started receding slowly. At this time, the CM said, it was necessary to be even more cautious as there is a higher risk of breaches in embankments. He directed the irrigation department to carry out preventive repairs where necessary. Yogi also cautioned against snake and scorpion bites and said that special care must be taken in relief camps.