BJP slams Akhilesh over flood relief

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday lashed out at the Akhilesh Yadav government for failing to take preventive action ahead of floods which have left people and livestock to the mercy of nature in various areas of the state.

The flood crisis has deepened with heavy rains and the toll has climbed to 235. More than 350 cattle have perished.

BJP state vice president Shiv Pratap Shukla said the chief minister or one of his colleagues should have reviewed the flood situation.

"Most rivers in the state are in spate, many people have died while lakhs have been affected, yet the state government has no time to spare," Shukla told IANS.

The BJP leader rued the fact that while floods are an annual feature, the UP government did not take preventive measures and left people and livestock to the mercy of nature.

Major rivers like Ghaghra, Ganga and Yamuna are flowing above the danger mark in the state and Allahabad, where the army has been called in, is facing its worst floods since 1983.

"More than 250 villages in Allahabad are marooned while 300 villages in Ghazipur, 100 in Ballia and another 300 in Lakhimpur are ravaged by flood waters but the government is content issuing only statements," BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak told IANS. The party also alleged there is an acute shortage of food and medical supplies in the flood-affected areas.