10 killed in Bihar, UP floods; rivers flow above danger mark
NEW DELHI: Ten people were killed and lakhs affected due to floods in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal where major rivers are flowing above danger mark, while two boys are feared dead after they were washed away in flash floods in the Tawi river in Jammu on Wednesday.
In Uttar Pradesh, two persons were killed since Tuesday in the floods which have affected around 8.7 lakh people in 987 villages of 28 districts in the state, officials said.
NDRF teams have been sent to Varanasi, Allahabad, Ghazipur and Ballia, Relief Commissioner D K Singh said, adding, “In these four districts, 30,247 people have been shifted to the relief camps, while 62,397 have been moved to safer places.”
The situation has worsened due to release of water from Nepal and the adjoining states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand which has led to further rise in the water levels of the major rivers, he said.
In Bihar, with seven fresh deaths, the toll in the current round of floods mainly due to the swollen Ganga river rose to 29. While five deaths were reported from Samastipur, one each was reported in Nalanda and Khagaria, a release by State Disaster Management Authority said.
In Aurangabad district, one person was killed and eight others feared dead when a country boat ferrying flood victims capsized in swollen Punpun river on Tuesday evening. With the latest deaths, toll in Bihar floods including those in Kosi areas earlier, has risen to 127.
In Jammu, two teenage brothers are feared dead after they were washed away in flash floods in the Tawi river, while another youth was rescued, police said.