Relief operations in flood ravaged parts of Uttar Pradesh today picked up pace, even as the Ganga and Ghaghra rivers were flowing close to the danger mark posing threat to scores of villages along their bank.
Water level of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Sharda, Ghaghra, Rapti and Kuanon continue to rise at several places in the state, officials said.
Two persons lost their lives in Aligarh, where at least half-a-dozen villages in Khair and Gangiri Tehsils were in the grip of a serious flood threat since the past 48 hours.
Authorities have set up a Special Control Room for helping family members of those who are missing in the Uttarakhand floods and also flood victims in this district, reports reaching here said.
Relief efforts were also on in flood affected Bahraich, Farrukhabad, Barabanki and Lakhimpur districts of the state.
According to the Meteorological department, moderate to rather heavy rain/thundershowers occurred at few places over eastern UP.
Light rains and thundershowers also occurred at isolated places in the western parts of the state, the department said.
In Aligarh, Senior Superintendent of Police, Amit Pathak, who visited some of the flood affected villages, said," district authorities are working round the clock to help in the emergency evacuation of a large number of villagers which fall in the danger zone."
Chief amount of rainfall recorded in centimetres are Salempur 6, Bansgaon and Basti 5 each, Sultanpur, Gorakhpur, Mirzapur, Ghazipur 2 each, Met sources said.
They said that weather would remain dry over the state during the next 24 hours.
At Barabanki's Elgin bridge and Bahraich's Ghoor Devi the Ghaghra river was flowing above the danger mark though at Girjapuri it was receding bringing respite in Nanpara Tehsil.
Ghaghra waters was however rising at Mahsi and Kaiserganj, reports said, adding that 2.71 lakh cusec water has been released at Girjipuri, Gopia and Sharda barrages .
Flood companies of PAC were being assisted by flood division of the SSB, reports said.
A report from Farrukhabad said that release of water in the Ramganga has given a surge to the river while the Ganga river was almost touching the red mark following release of water in Narora yesterday.
Central Water Commission said that the Ramganga river was flowing just under the danger mark in Moradabad, though it has registered a receding trend.
The Sharda river which is still flowing at the red mark at Palia Kalan was also receding but at Sharda Nagar it has started rising.
Ghaghra was maintaining upward trend from Elgin bridge in Barabanki to Ballia and Rapti at Sharwasti and Balrampur, it was flowing near the red mark, sources said.
Mavi Satpudha Dam breached on the left bank of the Yamuna river in Shamali district yesterday and efforts were on to plug it with the help of locals, he said.
According to the home department sources, flood hit people in Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Bijnore and Lakhimpur Kheri districts have been shifted to safer places.
NDRF team was helping the police in Bijnore and choppers were used to evacuate marooned people in Kheri, sources said.
Most of the houses in Shimla Kala village of Bijnore have been washed away due to erosion in the Ganga river and some ten to 12 villages were also affected in Meerut.
Sources said that a flood control room has been set up at the UP DGP headquarters here to extend round the clock help to flood victims and monitoring the situation.
A SP rank official and three DSPs have been posted in the control room which besides monitoring the situation in the state would also help the families of those from the state who have gone missing in Uttarakhand.
This control room with the helpline number 9454402510 would keep track with the ones operating in Uttarakhand and help trace the missing persons, sources added.