Floods in 13 UP districts; Ganga above danger mark in Varanasi, Prayagraj

Incessant rainfall in Uttar Pradesh has led to floods in 13 districts of the state, while major rivers like Ganga, Yamuna and Betwa are flowing above the danger mark at several places, officials said here on Monday.

While Ganga is flowing above the danger mark in Varanasi, Mirzapur, Ghazipur and Ballia, Yamuna is above the red mark in Auraiya, Kalpi, Hamipur, Prayagraj and Banda, according to a report from the relief commissioner's office.

Betwa is also flowing above the danger mark in Hamirpur, it said.

The state received 14.2 mm rainfall on Sunday, with 24 districts receiving heavy rainfall. 

At present 13 districts of the state are facing floods, including Prayagraj, Jalaun, Auraiya, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Kanpur Dehat, Banda, Etawah, Fatehpur, Kanpur city and Chitrakoot, the report said.

In Varanasi, the water level of the Ganga river crossed the danger mark here on Monday morning, submerging ghats and forcing the authorities to shift cremation and other religious rituals to rooftops and raised platforms, officials said.

According to the Central Water Commission, the Ganga was flowing at 72.1 metres by Monday morning, above the danger level of 71.262 metres.

Shivam Agrahari of Ganga Seva Nidhi said all ghats have been submerged, cutting off access.

The famed Ganga 'aarti' at the Dashashwamedh ghat is now being conducted on rooftops, while cremations at Manikarnika and Harishchandra ghats are being performed on elevated platforms.

District authorities have imposed a ban on boat movement in the river as a precautionary measure. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are patrolling the flood-affected areas and rescuing stranded individuals to safer locations, the officials said. 

In Prayagraj, due to heavy rains for the last few days, the water level of Ganga and Yamuna is above the danger mark of 84.73 metres since Saturday, due to which more than 200 villages of the district and about 60 settlements of the city have been flooded.

According to the data released by the district administration, the water level of Yamuna river was recorded at 86.04 metres in Naini at 8 am on Monday, while the water level of Ganga river was recorded at 86.03 metres in Phaphamau.

The district administration has suspended teaching work in schools with flood relief camp centers set up for citizens of the flood-affected areas in the city.

Officials said 107 wards and localities under Sadar tehsil in the city are affected by floods, of which Rajapur, Beli Kachhar, Chandpur Salori, Govindpur, Chhota Baghada and Bada Baghada are majorly affected.

In rural areas, 18 villages of Phulpur tehsil, eight of Soraon, 12 of Meja, eight of Bara tehsil and six villages of Handia tehsil are affected by the flood.