Flood hits 15 lakh in Uttar Pradesh

Around 15 lakh people reeled under the impact of floods in Uttar Pradesh, especially the eastern and central districts, including two major towns — Varanasi and Allahabad.

According to reports, as many as 30 people lost their lives in flood-related incidents in different parts of the state in the past few days.

In the ‘Sangam’ town of Allahabad, the water from the overflowing Ganga has entered several localities, forcing the administration to order closure of all schools up to Class XII for the next two days. Around six lakh people were affected by floods in Allahabad, reports said.

As the floodwater entered thousands of houses trapping the inmates inside, the administration sought help of the IAF personnel to drop food packets and water bottles in the affected areas. In Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ganga was flowing 121 cm above the danger mark and its water has entered many localities in the town. Its tributaries Varuna and Assi were also flowing above danger marks. Boats have been plying in dense localities in the town.

Movement of vehicles on the Mirzapur-Allahabad highway came to a halt after floodwater damaged the roads at many places. Teams of National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in the flood-affected districts.

Gives birth on boat
In Banda district of Bundelkhand region, a woman gave birth on a boat late on Monday while being taken to hospital. Shankarpurwa, the village which the woman belongs to, was marooned owing to floods.

The state government has directed district magistrates to visit the flood-affected areas and monitor the relief and rescue operations.

 Officials have been asked to coordinate relief efforts with the IAF personnel.
The toll in the flood related incidents has gone up to 30. Two people drowned in Ken river after their car was swept away in Banda district on Tuesday, sources said.

Vegetable prices skyrocket after floods
Even though the Ganga and its tributaries—Sone and Punpun—have started showing a receding trend in the last 36 hours, vegetable prices in and around the state capital have skyrocketed, DHNS reports from Patna.
The reason is that a large part of the diara areas (riverine belt) and surrounding villages in central Bihar, which grow huge quantity of vegetables, remain largely submerged due to swollen rivers. This has resulted in leafy vegetables going out of stock. The prices of those which are available like ladies’ finger, brinjal, tomato, parwal, green chillies and coriander have increased by 30 to 50%.
The steep hike is primarily because the vegetable-producing areas like Fatuha, Bakhtiyarpur and Raghopur remain submerged due to the overflowing Ganga and its tributaries. “Patna is like a saucer. It is surrounded by three rivers with Ganga/Gandak on the north, Sone in the west and Punpun in the south. With all the rivers in spate, most of the
vegetable- producing areas are underwater,” explained Suresh Kumar, a retailer.