press trust of india
Patna/Lucknow/Guwahati/ Kolkata, August 21: Devastating floods that have swept across large swathes of Bihar, Assam and Uttar Pradesh claimed 57 more lives Monday, with Bihar alone accounting for 51 causalities.
The figure of flood fatalities rose by three each in Assam and Uttar Pradesh. However, life in the deluge-ravaged areas of West Bengal slowly limped back to normalcy, with the water level of rivers receding. The toll in Bihar floods has crossed the 300 mark with 51 people losing their lives since Sunday. The flood toll stood at 253 till Sunday. 1.38 crore people are battling the deluge in 18 districts of the state.
Around 7.34 lakh people have been shifted to safer areas. Close to 3.27 lakh people are putting up in 1,346 relief camps. The overall situation in Uttar Pradesh is grim. Three more deaths have pushed the flood toll to 72, the state relief commissioner’s office said. Over 20 lakh people have been hit by the current spell of floods in 24 districts of the state. 2,688 villages are under water.
A flood report said 43,602 people have take shelter in relief camps in the affected districts of eastern UP, whipped by the raging waters of the rivers emanating from Nepal. Army choppers, NDRF and PAC (flood) jawans continued relief and rescue operations round-the-clock in the severely hit areas of the flood-affected districts of the state.
Twenty-one companies of the NDRF, 30 of the PAC (flood), two choppers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and several columns of the Army were working day and night to save lives and properties in the affected areas.
