Flood situation grim in UP, toll mounts to 32

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, September 3

With another 16 deaths reported during the last 24 hours, the total number of deaths in rain-related incidents in Uttar Pradesh in the past two days has shot up to 32.

Around 1.48 lakh people from 388 villages have been affected by the floods and 12,000 people are living in relief camps across the state.

“Incessant rains may make things worse in the coming days,” said the spokesperson from the Relief Commissioner’s office. The Ganga is flowing dangerously above its safe mark in Farukhabad, Ballia and Kannauj and Ghaghra in Barabanki, Faizabad and Gonda.

On Monday, the maximum number of people (four) died in Jhansi, followed by two each in Mirzapur, Gonda and Etawah and one each in Bahraich, Firozabad, Rae Bareli, Auraiya, Shamli and Sitapur.

The otherwise drought-prone Bundelkhand region is also facing floods, where a swollen Betwa is causing havoc in Lalitpur and Jhansi districts, forcing the Air Force helicopter to rescue marooned people. On Sunday, a MI-17 Air Force helicopter was pressed into service to rescue people marooned in Kandhareekla village.

Search op for missing family 

Guwahati: Search operations by the Army, NDRF and SDRF teams continued on Monday for five members of a family who went missing after their vehicle fell into the Dikhow river in Assam’s Sivsagar district, officials said.

The search teams are yet to locate the car or its occupants because of the strong undercurrent in Dikhow river which is on a spate and muddy water was blocking the vision of the divers under water, a state government release said.

A total of 32 deep divers are engaged in the rescue operation. They five were identified as Haren Bora, his wife Phunu Bora, daughters Simpi Bora and Munmi Bora, and mother Ponou Bora. — PTI