Flood threat in several dists as Sharda, Ghaghra cross danger mark

LUCKNOW:Flood threat was palpable in Gonda, Barabanki, Faizabad and Lakhimpur Kheri districts as the Sharda and Ghaghra rivers flowed above the danger mark, officials said.

In particular, villagers in the Ghaghra basin area in Karnailganj tehsil of Gonda district panicked on Sunday after a sudden rise in the water level of the river.

Villagers started shifting to the embankment after flood water inundated Naipura, Parsawal and Charpurwa villages.

Residents of Pasin Purwa village were trapped in their houses after a road and fields were submerged.

Zila panchayat member Ram Kailash Yadav said the district administration had not launched rescue and relief operations yet.

A district administration officer said boats were arranged to transport villagers to the relief camps. The Ghaghra was flowing 30 cm above the danger mark, he said.

The divisional commissioner and the DIG of Devi Patan division inspected the Elgin- Charsadi embankment in Karnailganj after the rising Ghaghra eroded a portion of the embankment.

An irrigation department officer said repair work was in full swing.

The Ghaghra was flowing above danger level at Turtipar in Ballia district, he said.

The Kuano, Rapti, Rohini, Kunahra and Gandak too maintained a rising trend in Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Siddharthnagar and Kushinagar districts.

In west UP, the Ganga flowed above the danger mark at Narora and Kachal Bridge in Bulandshahar. The Yamuna was also at the danger level at Mawi in Muzaffarnagar and Prayaghat in Mathura district, the irrigation department officer said.

Relief commissioner Sanjay Kumar said the DMs had been alerted.