Ganga, Yamuna rise, people fear repeat of past floods
PRAYAGRAJ: The Ganga and the Yamuna are flowing above the danger mark and many in the city are spending sleepless nights as they fear a repeat of previous floods of 2013 and 2019 or the worst ever flood of 1978. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been pressed into action.
The water level of both the rivers was increasing by around 3cm each hour and continuous showers have made things worse for the people.
The Ganga at Phaphamau (as recorded at 6pm on Tuesday) was flowing one meter above the 84.74m danger mark, officials said. “At Chhatnag too, the Ganga level was 85.03m at 6pm and still rising,” officials said.
Yamuna too had risen in the past 24 hours and its water level at 10pm (Monday) was 85.21m and had risen to 85.68m by Tuesday 6pm. “The entire Gaughat, Baradari of Balaughat, parts of Kareli area were all submerged in flood water that had entered ground floor of many houses located on the banks of the Ganga. Boats are being to supply necessary items in these localities,” locals said.
Local residents of Bagraha, Daraganj, Salori, Beli gaon, Mehenduari goan, Ganga nagar, parts of Rajapur, Ashok Nagar said with flood water all around them, they were virtually cut off. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams had been pressed into action, officials said. The local administration too along with NDRF teams were busy shifting people to safer places or providing necessary items to those stranded.
“We are providing all the help needed by the flood affected people. Every two hours we take rounds of the flood-hit localities asking if anyone wants to move to safer places. For now, people have shifted to first floors of their houses,” NDRF, inspector Dinkar Tripathi who is leading the rescue team. One team of NDRF having 25 personnel with two boats have been pressed into service to help flood victims, many of whom now fear a repeat of floods like in 2013 or 2019 or the worst ever floods of 1978.
“We still remember that localities like Mumforganj, Kydganj, Muttuganj, Alopibag, Khatghar, Bairana, Kareli etc were all flooded. Without the help of the then district magistrate Bhure Lal and the SSP Ajay Raj Sharma as well as Allahabad University, college and social organisations, the city could have suffered much more,” said Anand Dey, a resident of Kydganj.
“The flood of 1978 was so intense that waves of river Yamuna were hitting the road of the bridge. The Ganga and Yamuna had inundated almost every locality of the city and people of Allahapur used to sit in the boats from the first floor of their houses,” said veteran city politician Shyam Krishna Pandey.
“The then DM had not slept for four days and four nights continuously and assured that the relief items reach everyone affected by the floods,” he recalled. Congress MLA from city North, Anugrah Narayan Singh said, “The flood water from Ganga had crossed the present pump house of the Stanley road of Mumfordganj because of which the entire locality was inundated and boats were pressed into service”.