The flood situation in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh continued to remain grim on Monday with the major rivers in the regions flowing above danger mark. As per official figures, at least 17 people have died in Madhya Pradesh, 14 in Bihar and nine in Uttar Pradesh because of drowning, electrocution or injuries from collapsed houses. Normal life is also out of gear in Rajasthan.
More than 26,400 people have so far been rescued by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from the flood-ravaged areas in Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The NDRF has fanned out 56 rescue and relief teams to help people hit by heavy rains in various States and tasked two Deputy Inspector General-rank officers in Bihar and UP with monitoring the situation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday promised Centre’s total support to five flood-hit States in rescue and relief operations. He said Home Minister Rajnath Singh is closely monitoring the situation and has spoken to the Chief Ministers of UP, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to take stock of the situation. “The Centre assures total support in rescue & relief operations. I hope the situation in the affected areas normalises at the earliest,” tweeted the Prime Minister.
Incessant rain for the past few days have caused the Ganga River and its tributaries to rise above the danger level during the past 48 hours in about 20 districts of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
In Bihar, Patna is said to be experiencing the worst floods since 1994. The Ganga was flowing above the danger mark at six places in various parts of four districts.
low-lying areas of Patna, riverine areas of Patna, Vaishali and Saran districts are reportedly under water.
Further, the flood water is reportedly spreading to new areas in Bhojpur, Buxar, Munger, Bhagalpur and Khagaria. The movement of trains has been stopped between Chapra and Balia because of submerged railway tracks at many places. The surging water of the Rivers Sone and Punpun has also spread to the low-lying areas of Jahanabad and Arwal districts.
Flood situation in the eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh is also grim. Both the Ganga and Yamuna are rising continuously in the districts, including the cities of Allahabad and Varanasi. Over 100 villages in Varanasi are facing critical situation. In the city of Allahabad, water from the Ganga has entered into many residential areas forcing people to move to safer areas.
The waters of the Ganga are also rising in Ballia and Mirzapur districts, and the Yamuna is indicating a rising trend in Banda, Mathura and adjoining areas. After the release of water from the dam, the Betwa River is also on spate in Hamirpur district. Water levels are reportedly rising between two to three centimetres per hour.
Incessant rains have also affected normal life in Rajasthan, particularly in the south eastern districts. Several over bridges have been submerged in water, bringing road traffic on these routes to a grinding halt. A maximum of 26 centimetres of rainfall has been recorded at the Jakham Dam in the Pratapgarh district.
Places as Nimbaheda, Badi Sadri and Bhadesar have received 22 centimeters of rainfall in the last 24 hours, besides districts of Chittorgarh, Baran, Dungarpur, Banswara and Jhalawar. An alert has also been sounded in nearby areas of Chambal River in Karauli following an increase in water levels.
In Madhya Pradesh, too major rivers, including Retam, Chambal, Shivna, Kshipra and Sindh are in spate. Torrential rains have lashed western parts of the state , affecting normal life in Guna, Rajgarh, Shivpuri, Mandsour, Ujjain and other parts of the state.