NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday promised all support from the Centre in rescue and relief operations in flood-hit Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. He also spoke to UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Expressing concern over the worsening flood situation, Modi said Home Minister Rajnath Singh was closely monitoring the situation and had spoken to Chief Ministers of the five States on rescue and relief operations.
“I pray for the safety & well-being of those in areas affected by floods in parts (of) UP, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan & MP,” the PM tweeted.
“Centre assures total support in the rescue & relief operations. I hope the situation in the affected areas normalises at the earliest,” he said in another tweet.
The Ganga has crossed the danger mark in West Bengal, Bihar and neighbouring districts of Uttar Pradesh where the Yamuna is also in spate. The Ganga and five other rivers were still flowing above danger mark in many parts of Bihar, triggering a flood-like situation in the districts situated along their banks. However, the water level of Ganga at Gandhi and Digha ghats in Patna showed a receding trend, indicating that the state capital does not face imminent flood threat from the swollen river. In Bihar, NDRF teams evacuated 3,400 people from Didarganj, 580 from Bakhtiyarpur, 545 from Danapur, 380 from Chhapra, 355 from Vaishali and 15 from Maner in Patna. The force said 11 teams rescued 275 people from Ballia, 275 from Varanasi and 325 from Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday and 147 marooned people were shifted to wsafer places from Rewa district in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has drawn flak and ridicule for a photograph showing him being lifted by security personnel to cross a swollen nullah in the state’s Panna district to meet flood-hit people.
The Centre on Monday rushed 10 NDRF teams to flood-hit areas of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. NDRF Director General O P Singh said that while five teams are being airlifted for immediate deployment from its base in Odisha to Uttar Pradesh, the rest five are being picked by choppers from Bathinda in Punjab and will be sent to Bihar.