Uttar Pradesh faces flood fury, more than 30 dead

The roar of swirling waters drowns the cries for help from hungry people perched atop their houses for the past three days. This is the heart-rending scene at Ahata village of Bahraich district in eastern UP, which has been marooned by the bloated Ghaghra river. About 4,000 people have not had a morsel for more than 72 hours.

But Ahata is not a unique case. Lakhs of people in countless villages have lost their property, livestock or family members as UP faces an unprecedented fury of floods.

More than 30 people have died so far. Officials describe the inundation as “unprecedented” and say river levels at several places have broken the records of the past 100 years. Waters released from Nepal have added to UP’s woes.

The tragedy is not confined to humans alone. Even the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, home to a hundred tigers and other wildlife, has been inundated like never before. Forest officials say locals have reported seeing tiger cubs, deer and pythons being washed away.

“The worst damage has been caused by the Ghaghra and Sharda rivers,” says principal secretary (irrigation) Arun Kumar Sinha. He says as many as 13 districts have been affected by floods, the worst-hit being Bahraich and Lakhimpur Kheri, both of which share their border with Nepal.

Indiscriminate release of huge amounts of water from the Banbasa Barrage in Nepal has worsened the situation in these districts. According to officials, Nepal had released eight lakh cusecs of water on Sunday. “Nepal has released more than 20 lakh cusecs this year, which is a record,” an  official said. It is a “sensitive international issue”. 

Thousands of hectares of crop has been destroyed. The worst hit are the rice and cane crops. Relief work has been tardy, mainly because the floods were rather unexpected, coming long after the rainy season ended.

The flood control room here informed that the Ghaghra had touched 142 cm above the danger mark in Gonda while the Sharda flowed 114 cm above danger levels, which has not been seen in the past 100 years.

Apart from east UP, central UP is also facing the fury of floods. The national highway to Gorakhpur, a link to east UP, has been flooded. The temple town of Ayodhya is also threatened. The only consolation comes from the irrigation department spokesman who announced on Monday that all the raging rivers were now receding.