LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: Floods triggered by heavy rains in the Himalayas have inundated nearly 1,500 villages in northern India, killing at least 20 people and leaving thousands homeless, officials said yesterday.
Thousands were marooned in villages across nine districts of Uttar Pradesh state, where the release of water from overflowing dams in neighbouring Nepal has added to the impact of the downpours.
A lack of rain earlier in the June-September monsoon season had led to fears of drought, but this month all that has changed.
At least 12 people were swept away by torrents in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh, officials said. Another six perished when their boat capsized in the swollen Rapti river.
“The flood situation arose following heavy downpours in Nepal, which led to overflowing rivers which originate in the Himalayan region including Tibet and Nepal,” said Alok Ranjan, chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh.
More rain is forecast in Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Uttarakhand in the Himalayas, resulting in new flood warnings.
Three army helicopters were deployed to drop food and water to the people marooned in shelters.
“The state is well equipped with both manpower and resources to meet the current crises and we will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the affected people receive prompt relief,” Ranjan said.
In Bihar, two people were killed and nearly 400,000 people were affected by floods, an official said.
Vayasji, the principal secretary of state disaster management department, said two casualties were reported from flood-affected Saharsa district.
“Around 3.94 lakh people have been hit by floods in several districts, including two lakh in Saharsa,” he said over phone.
Vayasji said Kosi River was flowing above the danger mark at several places.
He said so far 37,000 people had been evacuated from the flood-hit districts of Saharsa, Supaul, Darbhanga and Gopalganj.
“About 3,000 people are living in 75 relief camps in these districts,” he added.
Heavy downpours over the past three days have pushed up the water levels of Kosi, Gandak and Bagmati rivers.
“We have sounded a high alert as major rivers in north Bihar, especially the Kosi, Gandak, Kamla Balan and Bagmati, are in spate following heavy rains in their catchment areas in Nepal and are posing a threat of floods,” he said.
Over a dozen teams of the National Disaster Response Force and state disaster response force have been deployed in flood-hit districts.
The state disaster management department has asked people living in low-lying areas to move to higher ground, Vayasji said.
Earlier, there had been concern the slow start to the monsoon would trim cane output in the world’s second-biggest sugar-producing nation.
Now the floods in Uttar Pradesh have raised fears of damage to the cane crop, as 0.6 million hectares of arable lands have been submerged.
“Sugarcane is at high risk due to floods as waterlogging can damage the crop,” Sudhir Panwar, president of the farmers’ body Kisan Jagriti Manch said by phone from Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh.
According to the Indian Sugar Mills Association, sugar output could rise 4 percent to 25.3 million tonnes in 2014/15, because of higher cane yields in the other major producing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.
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