The flood situation in Uttar Pradesh continued to be grim with two more people dying of flood-related incidents taking the toll to 91 since the onset of monsoon in the state.
Government official Manish Sharma said that over 24.10 lakh people spread across 25 districts of UP have been affected by floods where swelling water of various rivers like Gandak, Sharda , Rapti and Rohni have inundated a large swathe of land. He said that undeclared release of water from Nepal caused the floods in the state.
“The state is witnessing one of the worst floods in history. The toll has gone up to 91 with 2 more people dying in the last 24 hours. Rains have been intense but the release of water from Nepal aggravated the situation. People were caught unawares as water entered their houses without warning and over a dozen small dams were washed away in a week’s time,” the official said.
Sharma said that though water has started receding still all rivers were flowing over the danger mark. “The flood has left a mark of destruction in the area. Roads, houses, schools and hospitals have been washed away in 103 villages, forcing the inhabitants to put up in make-shift tents on highways. The total number of flood affected villages is 3067 of which 1862 are still marooned,” he said.
Avdhesh Kumar Singh, a resident of Narainpur Jaisingh village in Gonda, told this reporter that he had not witnessed such grim floods in his lifetime.
“On one fine morning flood water entered our village and within hours, we were wading though neck deep water. I along with my family shifted to a highway where we lived for five days,” he told ‘The Pioneer’ over phone from Gonda.
Two days back, Singh shifted his family to a relative’s house because they were not getting enough to eat. “Initially we got relief material but it was not enough for my family of seven. So we decided to move to a kin’s house,” he said
As the water started receding there is an apprehension of spread of infectious diseases. Director of Infectious diseases, Dr Badri Vishal said that insecticides and bleaching powder have been sent to all flood-affcted villages and over 60 lakh chlorine tablets and 21 lakh ORS packets have been distributed among people.
“As this is the time when there is an increase in cases of snake bites 5489, anti-snake venom injections have been dispatched to the affected areas,” Dr Vishal said.