LUCKNOW: The Varanasi district administration has put restrictions on the movement of people including tourists and local residents along with the boats on the ghats of river Ganga as the water level continued to rise at the rate of 3 cm per hour in Varanasi on Saturday.
According to the authorities, if the current trend of swelling continued, the Ganga would touch the warning mark of 70.262 m by Sunday evening.
According to the flood bulletin issued by the Central Water Commission, the river was flowing at the mark of 69.48 m at 2 pm on Saturday, just 0.782 m below the warning level and 1.782 m below the danger mark.
District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma along with other officials took a round of the flood-affected areas by boat from Assi Ghat to newly-constructed Namo Ghat on Saturday to take stock of the situation. The steps of almost all the 84 ghats are submerged in Ganga waters breaking the inter-connectivity of the ghats.
Consequently, the venue of Ganga Arti and other rituals including performance of last rites have been shifted to upper platforms. On Harishchandra Ghat, the cremation of bodies is reportedly taking place on rooftops and streets.
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The DM, on Saturday, instructed the officials to make all the night shelters and flood camps operational with immediate effect in view of the rising trend of the river.
Varanasi municipal corporation, and the PWD and irrigation and food supply departments have been put on high alert. The DM has issued directives to the officials to keep a tight vigil on the flood situation, depute workforce and make necessary arrangements to ensure convenience of the people.
The DM said that the flood outpost will function round the clock. The Jal Police personnel have been asked to keep a vigil on the ghats to avert any untoward incident.
Meanwhile, with the rising level of Ganga, the back flow of Varuna has also started in the district with water having entered houses in the low-lying area of Sairaiyya locality.
The rising trend of the Ganga continued in Ballia and Ghazipur as well. The Ganga has already crossed the danger mark in Ballia and has been flowing 0.485 m above the mark. In Ghazipur, the river was flowing just 0.935 m below the danger mark.