In Uttar Pradesh, floods triggered by heavy rains in the Himalayas have inundated nearly 1,500 villages in ?nine districts of the state, killing at least 28 people and leaving thousands homeless.?
Talking to AIR, state relief commissioner KS Atoria said that over six lakh population is marooned in floods. Breaking all records, the water level in the Rapti river has touched 105.47 metres, which is 0.85 metres above the danger mark.
Bahraich touching Nepal border is one of the worst affected districts. Army helicopters are dropping food packets in the marooned villages of Bahraich. Other districts hit by the flash flood are Shravasti, Balrampur, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Gonda, Barabanki, Faizabad and Azamgarh. Power supply has been snapped in hundreds of villages to avoid electrocution in the marooned areas.
A total of 6 lakh hectares of land in the state has been affected by the inundation and over 600 houses have been reportedly washed away in the last 48 hours. So far, 17,000 villagers have been rescued and efforts were on to reach far-off areas that have been marooned due to flood water.
AIR correspondent reports that Government officials, with help of two Army helicopters, PAC personnel, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and over six hundred boats are trying to reach the affected villages.The state government has released Rs 51 crore relief fund for flash flood-hit districts.
In Bihar, nearly four lakh people are affected by floods in several districts including Saharsa, Darbhanga, West Champaran and Nalanda districts. State Chief Secretary along with top officials made an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas yesterday.
Four teams of National Disaster Response Force are being rushed to Bihar from Kolkata to assist the already eights teams working in the state.
In Jammu and Kashmir flash flood triggered by heavy rains has washed away three-tier border fencing in a 200-metre stretch along the India-Pakistan border in Samba district, causing damage to a few border out-posts.
A BSF official said in Jammu that water level in Basantar River increased rapidly at Kamore border belt in Samba district due to incessant rains, resulting in sudden overflow of water. It damaged the recently re-constructed anti-flood embankment at Kamore.
Nearly 190 kms of international border,from Samba and Kathua districts in Jammu to Pathankot is fenced to stop cross-border infiltration and smuggling of narcotics and weapons into the state. The official said, troops guarding the border are keeping a close watch on the situation in view of the threat of infiltration from across the border.
In Himachal Pradesh, the heavy rain and cloudburst during past few days had caused havoc in Dharampur area of the Sarkaghat sub-division in Mandi district. About 300 cattle heads are reported to have been buried alive in the cowsheds collapse.
Nearly 250 houses have been also damaged in 20 villages in Dharampur area of Mandi District. Hundreds of villagers moved to safer places abandoning their homes. Large areas have been plunged into darkness due to power failure for the last five days.
In Assam, 41 revenue circles of 13 districts affected in current surge of water though situation in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts have slightly improved. Official sources said 3 lakh 64 thousand population at 849 villages’ are reeling under the fury of floods. 38 thousand affected people have taken shelter at 27 government run relief camps. Several rivers including the Brahmaputra are flowing above the danger mark. The army has been deployed for rescue work in the Nagaon district.
Central government is constantly monitoring the flood situation in various states. A senior official in the Home Ministry said, necessary assistance is being extended to the states that are carrying out rescue and relief operations in the flood affected areas.
