More than 50 people have died in eastern Uttar Pradesh alone as incessant rains continue to lash several states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,UP, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh disrupting normal life. A red alert has been sounded by the weather office in most districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh as well as Bihar for the next two days.
In the wake of continuing rains, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the divisional commissioners and the district magistrates to take all measures and extend immediate relief to those affected, an official said.
Yogi Adityanath has asked the officials concerned to visit the areas which have been affected by rains and witnessed flood-like situation. The Chief Minister also asked the officials to extend monetary help of Rs. 4 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed and also arrange treatment for the injured, he said.
He has directed to address the issue of water-logging immediately, the official said.
In Lucknow, 76.4 mm rainfall was recorded in the 24 hours ending 8:30 am Friday. Since Friday morning, 39.2 mm rainfall was witnessed leading to water logging and uprooting of trees in different areas.
The weather department has issued a warning of very heavy rainfall over the next two days in several parts of the state.
“Heavy rainfall is likely to occur in some areas in the district of Chitrakoot, Prayagraj, Sombhadra, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Varabasi, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Sultapur, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Balia, Mau, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Ambedkar Nagar and adjoining districts during the next 48 hours. The warning is valid till September 29,” it said.
The railways have been most affected in the Bihar. As many as 12 trains were cancelled on Saturday, while the administration ordered closure of all schools till Tuesday.
Many streets in Patna and other areas are waterlogged and residences of many ministers like Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav and BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy too got marooned.
Train services were temporarily suspended on the Samastipur-Darbhanga and Gaya-Koderma routes in Bihar due to continuing heavy rains on Saturday morning. Some trains from the Ara-Sasaram-Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay junction were also cancelled following water logging on the tracks, a railway official said.
Rajesh Kumar, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of East Central Railway (ECR), said the train services have been temporarily suspended on the Samastipur-Darbhanga rail section. “Several trains have been affected,” he said.
The weather department has forecast heavy rainfall for the city till September 30.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reviewed the situation in a video conference meeting with officials who informed him that the state received an average rainfall of 50 mm since Friday.
Disaster Management Department Principal Secretary Pratyay Amrit said he has alerted all the district’s where heavy to extremely heavy rains are expected on Saturday and Sunday. “I have asked the district officials to be fully prepared to face any situation,” he said.
Water Resources Department officials said water levels in all the rivers in the state were rising leading to inundation in towns and rural areas and putting pressure on the embankments.
The NDRF said 18 of its teams have been pressed into service in districts which have received heavy rainfall.
In Uttarakhand, six pilgrims from Punjab on their way to Hemkund Sahib, were killed in a landslip triggered by heavy rains, officials said. From Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh at least three people have been reported dead. While one person died in Jammu and Kashmir.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS )