KEDARNATH DELUGE REPEAT YOGI SOUNDS HIGH ALERT IN UTTAR PRADESH
The Uttar Pradesh government has setup a control room in state capital Lucknow to monitor the situation in the wake of the Uttarakhand disaster.
State Water Resource Minister Mahendra Singh said the government has sounded high alert in 27 districts, particularly in Bijnor where the Ganga enters the state and flows down to Badaun, Bulandhshahar, Hapur, Kannauj, Farrukhabad, Kanpur, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Fatehpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ghazipur and Ballia.
He said the government has directed the administration in Prayagraj and Garhmukteshwar in Hapur to keep a close watch on the banks of the Ganga to ensure safety of thousands of pilgrims camping there for the Magh Mela.
Earlier, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, who spoke to his Uttarakhand counterpart Trivendra Singh Rawat and offered all possible help, directed commissioners
A special Puja was organised in Varanasi during the Ganga Aarti to pay homage to the dead
and district magistrates to keep a close vigil on the situation arising out of natural disaster in the hill state. The CM issued directives to the SDRF, PAC flood company, flood control department to be on high alert to meet any eventuality.
Yogi Adityanath has directed DMs of districts bordering the Ganga to evacuate people living on the banks and take them to safety, if needed. Additional Chief Secretary Revenue and Relief Commissioner Renuka Kumar said district and police administration have been put on high alert. The state disaster management teams are monitoring the situation. Officials claimed it will take about 12 to 15 hours for Ganga water to rise in Uttar Pradesh. A flood-like situation may arise in districts bordering Ganga river including Bijnor, Badaun, Hapur, Farrukhabad, Varanasi, Prayagraj and Kanpur, if water of the overflowing rivers in Uttarakhand was released. All flood control teams and irrigation department officials have been directed to make arrangements to meet any emergency situation in the districts.
“We will take a call to remove people living on the banks of the Ganga in districts neighbouring Uttarakhand after monitoring the water flow from the hills,” a senior bureaucrat told FPJ.
Hapur DM Aditi Singh has sounded alert in villages bordering Ganga.
Over 5,000 people residing on the Ganga banks in Bijnor, Meerut, Amroha were moved to safer places