Lucknow:
Over 600 villages in 16 districts of Uttar Pradesh have been affected by floods, with the Sharda and the Saryu rivers flowing above the danger mark at some places in the state, a government official said today.
The deluge-hit districts in the state are Ambedkarnagar, Ayodhya, Azamgarh, Bahraich, Ballia, Barabanki, Basti, Deoria, Farrukhabad, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Lakhimpur Khiri, Kushinagar, Mau, Sant Kabir Nagar and Sitapur.
Relief Commissioner Sanjay Goyal said the flood situation in the state is improving. Of 690 villages hit by the deluge, 299 villages are completely flooded, he said.
The Sharda river was flowing above the danger mark at Palia Kalan in Lakhimpur Kheri, while the Saryu river was flowing above the danger mark at Ayodhya, Elgin Bridge in Barabanki and Turtipar in Ballia.
The state government has built 373 relief camps and 784 “baarh chowki” (flood posts). As many as 465 boats are being used in the relief and rescue operation, Goyal said.
Twenty-nine teams of the NDRF, SDRF and PAC have been pressed into the relief work.