Lucknow, August 17: Amid rainfall in Uttar Pradesh, the rising water levels of rivers including the Sharda and Ghaghra have created a flood situation. The Sharda River at Palia Kalan in Lakhimpur Kheri and the Ghaghra River near Elgin Bridge in Barabanki are flowing above the danger mark. Flooding has affected 12 districts and 166 villages in the state, impacting around 64,402 people. To address the situation, the Yogi government has activated a comprehensive relief and rescue mechanism. A total of 1,586 flood posts and 1,263 flood shelters have been established across the state, while 86 teams have been deployed for relief and rescue operations. These include 18 NDRF teams, 16 SDRF teams and 52 PAC teams.
In the affected areas, 69 medical teams and 51 ambulances have also been deployed. A total of 308 distribution centers have been set up to deliver relief, and so far, 15,133 food packets and 24,266 lunch packets have been distributed. The administration is focused on moving affected people to safe locations while also providing food, medical care, and essential relief materials.
According to the August 16 report of the Relief Commissioner’s Office, the Sharda River at Palia Kalan in Lakhimpur Kheri and the Ghaghra River near Elgin Bridge in Barabanki are flowing above the danger mark. From June 1 to August 16, the state has recorded a total of 381 millimeters of rainfall. During this period, normal rainfall should have been 488.9 millimeters. Thus, the state has received about 22 percent less rainfall than normal so far.
During the last 24 hours, several districts of the state recorded considerably higher-than-normal rainfall. Lakhimpur Kheri received 92.5 millimeters of rainfall, about 10 times the normal amount. Besides this, Bahraich recorded 62.5 millimeters of rainfall, Shahjahanpur 45.1 millimeters, Sambhal 41.8 millimeters, Chitrakoot 41.5 millimeters, and Lucknow 40.9 millimeters. Farrukhabad received 25.5 millimeters, Balrampur 28.8 millimeters, Hamirpur 31.6 millimeters, Shravasti 29.9 millimeters and Bijnor 33.6 millimeters of rainfall.
Based on rainfall recorded over the last 24 hours, 20 districts received more than 60 percent above-normal rainfall, while six districts received 20 to 59 percent above-normal rainfall. Rainfall was normal in 10 districts. Meanwhile, 17 districts received up to 60 percent less rainfall than normal, while 22 districts received no rainfall.
According to cumulative rainfall data from June 1 to August 16, Sambhal received 74.97 percent, Meerut 73.81 percent, and Muzaffarnagar 69.22 percent more rainfall than normal. Etah recorded 28.14 percent and Firozabad 25.95 percent more rainfall than normal. Meanwhile, several districts of the state have so far received less than normal rainfall. Lucknow has received 78.69 percent, Farrukhabad 75.75 percent and Bareilly 77.51 percent of normal rainfall.
According to the report of the Relief Commissioner’s Office, the major concern in the current flood situation is the Sharda and Ghaghra rivers flowing above the danger mark. The concerned departments are continuously monitoring the water levels of both rivers.
Relief and rescue teams have been deployed in various districts of the state to deal with the flood and waterlogging situation. According to the report, 18 NDRF teams and 16 SDRF teams are deployed in different districts of the state. In addition, 52 PAC teams have also been deployed for relief and rescue operations. Each NDRF team comprises around 30 to 35 personnel, an SDRF team comprises 25 to 30 personnel, and a PAC team comprises around 10 to 15 personnel.
According to the report, NDRF, SDRF, and PAC teams have been deployed for relief and rescue operations in several districts, including Ayodhya, Azamgarh, Bahraich, Ballia, Barabanki, Farrukhabad, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Kasganj, Lakhimpur Kheri, Shahjahanpur, Varanasi, and Lucknow. Three NDRF teams are deployed in Prayagraj. In addition, rescue teams have also been deployed in Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Mirzapur, Unnao, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Pilibhit, Bijnor and Muzaffarnagar, among other districts. A special team has been deployed in Lucknow to deal with drowning incidents.
Relief and rescue operations are continuing in flood-affected areas of the state. According to the report, 12 districts and 166 villages have been affected so far, including around 64,402 people. The administration has established 1,586 flood posts and 1,263 flood shelters for relief operations. Of these, 40 shelters are currently operational.
Along with shifting people in need to safe locations, relief and rescue operations are being carried out in affected areas with the help of boats and motorboats. In addition, 308 relief distribution centers have been established.
Under the relief operations, 5,849 boats and 1,101 motorboats have been made available. In addition, 69 medical teams and 51 ambulances have been deployed. Food and lunch packets, along with ORS and chlorine tablets, are being distributed to affected people. According to the report, 15,133 food packets, 24,266 lunch packets, 22,720 ORS packets, and 40,860 chlorine tablets have been distributed so far.
Meanwhile, 69 houses have been damaged by the floods, and the report contains no information on any loss of human or animal life. A total of 3,502 animals have been affected, for which 154 quintals of fodder have been distributed.
