The flood situation in Uttar Pradesh remains grim as the swollen rivers have flooded the low-lying areas of Moradabad, Pilibhit, Bijnor and lakhimpur Kheri districts. Five people have so far lost their lives in the floods.
Two children are feared to have drowned in the Ram Ganga in Moradabad district when they entered the water along with some other kids. According to police, five children were swept away by the surging water but three of them were saved by the villagers. The two teenagers feared drowned were identified as Mohammad Alam (15) and Azad (13).
Another report from Moradabad said the rising water of the Ram Ganga was posing a threat to the district and the city itself. National Highway 74 connecting Moradabad and Nainital has been cut off for the past two days while at least two dozen villages are submerged by the overflowing Ram Ganga river.
Sources said the situation may aggravate in coming days as the Ram Ganga is still rising.In the adjoining Bijnor district, three people drowned and 11 went missing after a tonga carrying them fell into the Mahan river.
The incident took place when a bridge capsized while the horse-carriage was crossing it. The flood situation in Pilibhit and lakhimpur Kheri has worsened after Uttarakhand released 3.34 lakh cusec water from Banbasa barrage on Tuesday.
In lakhimpur Kheri, the Sharda river is flowing above the danger mark at Palia and the Palia-Dudhwa highway is under 2-3 feet water. Several villages are marooned and the villagers have been shifted to safer places.
According to a report from Pilibhit, the situation in Puranpur area of the district has turned critical as the Sharda river is overflowing. Several villages, including Siddhanagar, Chandannagar and Gandhinagar are threatened by the flood waters.
District Magistrate ON Singh said the authorities are keeping a close watch on the water level of the rover following release of water from Uttarakhand as it was the main reason for floods in the district.
The flood situation has aggravated Gonda as the river Ghagra has started rising and has submerged several villagers in the low-lying areas. More than 15,000 people have been affected so far by the floods in the state, officials say.