The water levels of Ganga and Yamuna rivers in Prayagraj rose sharply on Sunday, flooding both rural and urban areas and affecting over 1.5 lakh families. The steady increase in river levels has forced several families to evacuate their homes and seek refuge in flood relief camps set up by the district administration. By Sunday afternoon, over 200 people had already taken shelter in these camps, and the numbers are expected to grow if water levels continue to rise, Hindustan Times reported.
According to the district officials, the rivers crossed the 83-metre mark at 8 am on Sunday before showing signs of a slight decline by 4 pm. Ganga at Phaphamau measured 83.06 metres in the morning and rose marginally to 83.08 metres by noon, before settling at 83.09 metres by 4 pm. Yamuna, which rose 56 cm in the past 24 hours, was recorded at 83.19 metres at 8 am and declined to 82.86 metres at Naini by 4 pm, the report said.
Notably, the danger mark for both the Ganga and Yamuna is at 84.73 metres.
Residents sought shelter in relief camps
Floodwaters have submerged several areas in and around the city, including Nevada, Draupadi Ghat, Ganganagar in Rajapur, Sundaram Colony, Beli Kachar, Baghara, Dharharia, Sadiyabad, Chilla, and Beli Village.
Many people have moved to the first and second floors of their homes, while others have sought shelter in relief camps. The district administration has arranged boats and motorboats in the affected colonies, Financial Express reported. Around 34 boats have been deployed across urban and rural pockets to evacuate people trapped by floodwaters.
In addition, emergency teams from the NDRF, SDRF, and health department have been kept on standby.
One of the largest flood relief camps, set up at Annie Besant School, is housing 190 people, including 109 children from areas like Chota Bagha, Salori, and Karan Modh. The camp is being managed by Prem Kishore Patel, who confirmed that a doctor is stationed at the camp to attend to medical needs, HT reported.
ADM (Finance and Revenue) Vandana Singh, the nodal officer for flood relief operations, said continuous monitoring was underway in affected areas such as Newada, Shivkuti, Chota Baghada, Ghaus Nagar, Beli Kachaar and Bhadra Sonauti in Jhunsi.
Water levels to rise
According to the irrigation department executive engineer, RK Singh, a further rise in water levels is expected due to heavy rainfall in Madhya Pradesh, where the Ken and Betwa rivers have swollen and joined the Yamuna in Banda.
In preparation for the escalating crisis, District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Mandar has written to the Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner seeking a Rs 60 lakh relief package to support flood management and rehabilitation efforts. A total of 87 relief camps have been set up, 26 in the urban Sadar tehsil and 61 in rural regions.
The flood control room reported water discharges at 8 am on Sunday as follows: 52,977 cusecs from Haridwar barrage, 38,740 cusecs from Narora barrage, and 80,860 cusecs from Kanpur barrage.
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