As the flood situation in Uttar Pradesh continues to be grim with the Army, para-military and State police force working round the clock in rescue and relief work, the toll has gone up to 76 as floodwater inundates fresh areas on Monday. Over 20.80 lakh people spread over in 24 districts been affected by floods as rivers Ghagra, Rapti and Rohini swelled up after Nepal released water from reservoirs without warning.
Of the total deaths, the highest was reported from Balrampur where 18 people drowned, followed by 16 in Bahraich, 14 in Sitapur, 12 in Sidharthnagar nine in Barabanki and rest from other places. In Sitapur, six children drowned at different places on Sunday.
Officials say over 3,500 villages have been inundated in last 24 hours affecting a population of over 1 lakh.
Sources said 21 teams of NDRF, 30 companies of PAC, along with two choppers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and several columns of the Army personnel were working round the clock to save the life and properties in the affected areas.
A report from Gorakhpur said that more than 2.64 lakh people are affected in the flood after 153 villages totally marooned in the water.
Officials say flood waters entered city after two embankments of Rapti in Chaurichara caved in while the traffic on the Gorakhpur-Varanasi highway was paralyzed when water inundated the road at Kasihar area.
All the schools and colleges of Gorakhpur will be closed till August 23. Another report from Sidharnath Nagar district said that Rapti, Burhi Rapti, Kuraha and Ghogi rivers were creating havoc in the districts where 12 people have died in the floods so far.
The floods have submerged several areas of Bansi, Doomariaganj, Etwa, Sohratgarh and Navgarh tehsils where over 700 villages have flood impact.
The road connecting district headquarters with Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Basti has been snapped for the past one week.