Flood situation in UP grave, toll rises to 89

Lucknow, August 21
The flood situation remained grave in Uttar Pradesh where the toll rose to 89 today with reports of seven more deaths in the state whose eastern parts were worst hit.

Six people were killed in flood-affected areas in Balrampur district, while a 26-year-old man drowned in Gonda district in the past 24 hours, official sources said.

The flood-affected districts included Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Khiri, Sitapur, Faizabad, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Azamgarh, Muzaffarnagar and Siddharth Nagar.

According to report from Balrampur several mud houses collapsed in Jonaar, Mirzapur, Nandnagar, Hridaynagar, Bhatehia and Belha village.

Around 1.5 lakh people in 150 villages are affected in the district where relief and rescue work is being carried out. While Balrampur-Utraula route remain closed, traffic on Balrampur-Tulsipur route was restored as the water level receded.

A report from Azamgarh said that breaking a 16-year-old record, the Ghaghra was flowing 1.7 metre above the danger mark. The river swelled after water was released from Girja and Sharda barrage in Bahraich district, it said.

Additional District magistrate (administration) Ashutosh Trivedi said 335 boats were deployed and directives issued to evacuate people from 100 villages from the catchment area. — PTI