UP flood toll reaches 41, rail traffic may be hit

The death toll in Uttar Pradesh floods reached 41 on Sunday, with reports of 13 more deaths in the state. Over 1,000 villages were affected by the floods as several rivers were flowing above the danger mark.

According to officials, eight persons died in Shravasti, two each in Bahraich and Balrampur and one in Lakhimpur due to flood-related incidents in the past 24 hours. The worst-hit districts are Bahraich, Shravasti, Gonda, Balrampur, Lakhimpur, Barabanki, Sitapur, Faizabad and Azamgarh.

Shravasti Additional District Magistrate Rajnish Shandara said eight persons were killed in separate incidents due to floods in Bhinga and Ikauna tehsils, while four others were swept away. At least 117 villages in two tehsils of the district, with a total population of 60,000 have been affected.

Chief Revenue Officer Bahraich U S Upadhyay said the Sarya water level fell below the danger mark while the Ghaghra was still flowing above the danger mark.

Local authorities have asked for two army choppers to be pressed for rescue operations in the interior villages where an national disaster response force team was carrying out relief work. Traffic on National Highway was affected between Bahraich and Lucknow as the flood waters of Ghaghra submerged the road near Ganeshpur. The water level has reached the railway line at Ghaghra bridge, posing a threat to rail traffic.

In Balrampur and Barabanki, two persons drowned in separate incidents, while in Lakhimpur the body of a three-year-old girl was recovered from a village, according to Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Lakhimpur Narendra Singh. A Central Water Commission report states the Rapti river was flowing above the danger mark in Birdghat (Gorakhpur).

While the Ghagra was flowing above danger mark in Ayodhya and Turtipar, the Budhi Rapti had crossed the red mark in Kakhari (Siddharth Nagar) and Sharda river was flowing above the danger mark at Palliakalan (Lakhimpur).

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

| 8 persons dead in Shravasti, 2 each in Bahraich and Balrampur and 1 in Lakhimpur
| Bahraich, Shravasti, Gonda, Balrampur, Lakhimpur, Barabanki, Sitapur, Faizabad and Azamgarh are the worst affected districts
| Local authorities have asked for two army choppers for rescue operations
| Traffic on the National Highway was affected between Bahraich and Lucknow