Govt taking preventive steps in flood-prone dists: Minister
LAKHIMPUR KHERI: Uttar Pradesh irrigation minister Dharma Pal Singh on Saturday said the Yogi Adityanath government was making efforts to prevent loss of lives and property caused by floods in the state.
“The government has launched 18 projects worth Rs 137.15 crore to tackle flood menace in Kheri,” he told media persons after inspecting the ongoing flood control work in flood-prone Bijua, Revtipur, Bajehra and Akalgarh villages.
“Kheri is one among the 26 hyper-sensitive flood-prone districts and the government is focusing on advanced flood control measures here,” he said. Singh said 26 villages in Kheri had been reported flood hit. “Twenty of these villages this year have been safeguarded against floods. In view of the possibility of flood in Kheri, four flood control rooms, 21 flood relief centres and 40 flood outposts have been set up with round-the-clock monitoring,” he said.
“Rescue and relief teams with all equipment are in place. The government is working for the revival of eight rivers including Gomti, Varuna, Sai, Manorama and Tamsa to manage water resources,” Singh said, adding: “Once the National Saryu Project gets operational, floods will be effectively controlled to the benefit of people. Work to control floods due to influx of water from Nepal rivers is in progress.” Earlier, Singh along with BJP district president Sharad Bajpai and district officials visited the 45-year-old Sharda barrage and assured to modernise it. He also inspected the villages located along the banks of Sharda and instructed to include erosion in Revtipur village under flood projects.