The flood situation continued to be grim in Uttar Pradesh with several rivers flowing above the danger mark and inundating the low-lying areas in eastern state.The death-toll in the recent floods and the rains in the state has gone up to 116 with nine more deaths during the past 24 hours.
Sitapur tops the list with 19 deaths followed by Siddharthangar (9) and Barabanki (8).The floods have affected 12 districts in the state, inundating more than 700 villages.A report from Gonda said due to heavy rain and release of water from the Banbasa barrage in Nepal, the Ghagra and Saryu rivers had inundated around 300 villages in the district and the adjoining Barabanki district.The flood waters have inundated around one lakh hectares of agricultural land and around 50,000 people have been displaced from their homes.
Reports from Bahraich and Siddharthnagar also said that the flood situation had deteriorated due to heavy rain during the past 24 hours.The Central flood control office here said the Ghagra river was flowing 3 metres above the danger mark at Elgin Bridge in Barabanki district and had inundated several villages. The river was flowing above the danger mark at Ayodhya and Ballia and was still rising.The Sharda river was flowing above the red mark at Palia Kalan in lakhimpur Kheri district and was continuing to rise.
The Ganga river was flowing above the danger level at Fatehgarh and was rising all along its course in the state.The Rapti river was near the danger mark at Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar and Gorakhpur and was rising all along its course. The Burhi Rapti was above the danger level at Siddharthnagar while the Kwano river was near the red mark at Gonda, Basti and Sant Kabir Nagar.
The flood control officials maintained that the rest of the rivers in the state were flowing below the danger level but were rising due to heavy rainfall in the catchment areas. Meanwhile, the weather office here on Wednesday said the highest rainfall during the past 24 hours was recorded at Varanasi (95 mm) followed by Sant Kabir Nagar (65 mm), Ayodhya (57 mm), Gonda (56 mm) and Basti (52 mm). The weatherman has forecast heavy rainfall in eastern UP and scattered rain in other parts of the state during the next 24 hours.