As heavy rainfall this monsoon season continues to affect large parts of Uttar Pradesh for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, the number of flood-affected districts in the state has increased to 24. This is a serious concern for the rural and urban areas of the state, especially in the eastern part.
The flood situation in several districts remains extremely critical, where rural areas have been battling rising water levels for nearly a week. What started as heavy rainfall has now become a serious flood crisis around major rivers like the Ganga, Yamuna, and Sharda. All these rivers are currently flowing above the danger mark in several areas, while in many places, floodwaters have even entered hundreds of houses. Many families have been forced to leave their homes and shift to safer and higher places. The displacement occurred amid waist-deep water, where villagers and even city folks were seen carrying their children, animals, and other valuable items using small boats to reach a safer place.
“Villages now look like waterlogged islands. Large areas of farmland are underwater, and farmers have lost their crops. Many houses were damaged, and vehicles parked on the road were stuck in floodwater,” said Tej Lal Nishant, a farmer in Lakhimpur Kheri. While talking to national media, he said that his wife, Uma Devi, is the Pradhan of the village in the Phulera block of the district but cannot do anything about the flood situation. The Phulera block is almost the worst affected by the flood because of the Sharda River, which has now flowed just above 400 m. The village is home to 6,000 people, most of whom are largely dependent on agriculture. Most of the farmlands are submerged under the rising river water.
Immediate relief efforts in these areas have begun, but the villagers are still anxiously waiting for the water to recede.
“The water level is rising every day, so we urge the government to provide not just temporary relief but a long-term solution so that we don’t have to face this kind of situation again next year.”
A similar situation has gripped the Ballia district in East Uttar Pradesh. Sumer Yadav, husband of Chanya village Pradhan Mamta Devi, told national media that,
“Due to the flood, we are now relying on boats to move around…”
Urban Flooded Areas
Other than Ballia and Lakhimpur Kheri, other districts affected by the flood are Bijnor, Bahraich, Gonda, Banda, Basti, Chandauli, Chitrakoot, Etawah, Farrukhabad, Fatehpur, Ghazipur, Gorakhpur, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Kasganj, Mirzapur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Agra, and Auraiya.
Prayagraj city corporator Rajeev Nishant told national media,
“We have started seeing a gradual decline in the water level… however, large parts of the area, including the ground where the Kumbh Mela was held, remain submerged.”
Urban flooding is not a problem that has only worried people living in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The Delhi government is also trying to take steps to avoid any unforeseen situation in the capital city as the levels of the Yamuna rise due to excessive cementing and construction around the river area. Urban flooding has become a serious problem in almost all cities, especially this monsoon, when the average rainfall was above normal. The situation can lead to displacement and injury to a lot of people.