Continued rains for the last four days may have brought some relief to the drought-hit districts in the state, but it has also rendered lakhs of people homeless.

The rivers of eastern Uttar Pradesh — Ghaghra, Rapti, Sharda and Saryu — have once again flooded and submerged hundreds of villages. This was after heavy rains in the plains of Uttar Pradesh and mountains of Uttarakhand.

Moreover, water from river barrages in Nepal has also been released on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to officials, over 5 lakh cusecs of water has been released from Banbasa and other barrages situated near the Indo-Nepal border. This has flooded villages in Shrawasti, Sitapur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Kushinagar, Maharajganj and Bahraich districts.

In Bahraich, rivers flowing in spate have inundated as many as 185 villages, affecting nearly three lakh people. Taking into account the rising level of water in Saryu, Ghagra and Sharda rivers, the district administration has started to evacuate villagers.

Bahraich District Magistrate Subhash Sharma said: “The flood situation will not improve in the near future as the water level is rising continuously.” The rivers have either crossed the danger mark or are flowing near it.

“For conducting rescue operations in the district and its adjoining areas, we have pressed into service a company of PAC and nearly 80 boats and motorboats,” he added.

Officials in Shrawasti district said Rapti and Saryu rivers were flowing above the danger mark. The situation was more or less same for Ghagra river in Sitapur district, Rapti in Sant Kabir Nagar, Gandak in Kushinagar and Rohni in Maharajganj.

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