Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister on Thursday took cognisance of the loss of lives, livestock and property caused by heavy rainfall and directed senior officials to visit affected areas and provide all possible assistance to families.
The Chief Minister directed officials to assess the loss of lives, livestock and property caused by excessive rainfall and lightning and ensure compensation is provided to the affected families within 24 hours.
He also instructed officials to maintain communication with affected families and ensure that all possible assistance is made available to them.
Appealing to the people of the state, the Chief Minister urged them to avoid unnecessarily stepping out of their homes during lightning.
He also asked people to exercise special caution while bathing in rivers and water bodies during heavy rainfall.
Meanwhile, a red alert has been issued for several districts where water levels in rivers are flowing above the warning mark.
The affected areas include the Hindon river in Baghpat and Gautam Buddh Nagar-Noida, Ganga river in Budaun, the Ghaghara river in Ayodhya and Ballia, and the Gandak river in Kushinagar.
On Monday, the Chief Minister chaired a high-level review meeting in view of the dual challenge arising from erratic rainfall–one being the prospect of drought in areas with low rainfall, and the other the potential flooding due to excessive rains.
“Whether it is flood or drought, the safety of every citizen, protection of farmers’ crops, and safeguarding the livelihood of the common people is the topmost priority of the state government. Relief and rescue strategies should be prepared in accordance with the conditions of each district,” he added.
The Chief Minister directed that in districts where rainfall has been below normal, agricultural activities should not be affected. Maximum utilisation of canals, reservoirs, government tube wells, and other available irrigation resources should be ensured.
Meanwhile, a Red Alert has been issued for Balrampur, Shravasti, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Kasganj, Etah, Rampur, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Sambhal, Badaun and surrounding areas, indicating the likelihood of extremely heavy rainfall.
An Orange Alert, indicating the likelihood of heavy to very heavy rainfall, has been issued for Ghazipur, Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia, Deoria, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Siddharthnagar, Gonda, Sitapur, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Kanpur Dehat, Barabanki, Ayodhya, Ambedkar Nagar, Saharanpur, Hathras, Agra, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Jalaun and surrounding areas
A Yellow Warning, indicating the likelihood of heavy rainfall, has been issued for Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Jaunpur, Kanpur Nagar, Unnao, Lucknow, Raebareli, Amethi, Sultanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur, along with surrounding areas.