666 villages in 17 districts hit by floods in Uttar Pradesh

As many as 666 villages have been affected by floods across 17 districts of Uttar Pradesh, and major rivers are flowing above the danger mark at some places in the state, officials said on Thursday.

The Sharda river in Lakhimpur Kheri's Palia Kalan, the Saryu river in Barabanki's Elgin Bridge, Ayodhya and Ballia's Turtipar, and the Rapti at Gorakhpur's Bird Ghat were flowing above the red mark, Relief Commissioner Sanjay Goyal said.

Seventeen districts in the state are now flood-affected. A total of 666 villages have been hit, out of which 446 have been marooned, Goyal said.

The districts affected by the floods are Ambedkar Nagar, Ayodhya, Azamgarh, Bahraich, Ballia, Balrampur, Barabanki, Basti, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Mau, Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddharthnagar, Maharajganj and Sitapur, he said.

Goyal said issues of seepage in an embankment on Rapti river was reported from Gorakhpur and that of land erosion in an embankment was reported in Mau district. He added that repair work was underway and the situation was being monitored.

In Mau, around 5,000 families have been affected and 20 families were evacuated from three marooned villages, the official said.

He said there was no danger to embankments and bridges in other parts of the state.

Sixteen teams of the NDRF, the SDRF and the provincial armed constabulary (PAC) have been deployed for search and rescue works. Besides, 219 shelters have been set up and 983 boats deployed.

Goyal said 712 'flood chowkis' have been set up and 249 medical teams deployed. Ration kits and food packets were being distributed among the affected people.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued directives to maintain strict vigil on all embankments and bridges and to take steps to check soil erosion, the official said.

The chief minister has also asked for taking necessary steps to check the outbreak of diseases and to ensure the availability of medicines to deal with them, he added.