The Ganga crossed the danger mark in Mirzapur also while flood threat in the areas along the river banks in Ghazipur and Ballia has also increased.
After taking stock of flood scene and on-going relief operations in urban and rural belts, district magistrate Varanasi Kaushal Raj Sharma said, “The highest flood level of the district was recorded as 73.90 m in 1978 while in 2021 the water level of river Ganga had gone up to 72.32 m. Though the water level of the river has not yet reached up to the level recorded in 2021, it has touched the mark of 71.85 m by Sunday afternoon and has flooded the low-lying areas of Ganga upstream in Samneghat.”
After the approach road of Samneghat-Ramnagar bridge became inundated, traffic police had started preparations to divert traffic from this road.
Sharma said that of 40 flood relief camps, 20 have been made operational as number of people migrating to safer places had gone above the mark of 16,000. “Number of people who have reached the relief camps has crossed the mark of 5,000 while others have taken shelter at the places of their own preference. So far, crops in 350 hectare area had become affected”, said Sharma.
Flood relief operations including rescuing stranded people, distribution of cooked food, dry food packets, drinking water, medical facilities, fodder for animals and their health check up by veterinary doctors has been intensified, he said.
Meanwhile, with areas around the ghats inundated in floodwater, problems have started arising in performing last rites there. With the street leading to Manikarnika Ghat submerged, people reaching there with corpses for cremation had to take the service of boats to take the body at upper platform of the cremation ground to complete last rites. The situation at Harishchandra Ghat was more worse where people had to perform cremations on streets.
Dhab area in Ganga downstream had turned into an island. People in Ganga upstream at Samneghat have started shifting to safer place or upper floors of their buildings in residential colonies. Major migration to safer places and flood relief camps was evident in the areas along the Ganga’s tributary river Varuna bank.
Officials in Mirzapur district have also intensified the process of making flood relief camps operational and other exercises after the water level of the Ganga crossed the danger mark of 77.72 m. In downstream, the Ganga was flowing above one metre of danger mark in Ghazipur and Ballia.