UP intensifies monitoring of Gandak, other rivers after Nepal flash floods

The Nepal floods were triggered after an ice-rock landslide blocked a river near the country's border with China | Image: PTI

The administration has sounded a high alert in Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts of Uttar Pradesh and stepped up monitoring of the Gandak and other water bodies downstream of rivers in Nepal, following devastating flash floods in the neighbouring country that have killed at least 177 people and left thousands missing.

The administration in UP, which shares its northern borders with Nepal, is focusing on river monitoring, alerting vulnerable villages and keeping relief-and-rescue teams ready.

The UP government has deployed a 32-member SDRF platoon and 22 PAC personnel to Nepal for rescue and relief operations following directions from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, an official statement said.

Four rubber boats are available and an aluminium boat is also being sent with an additional SDRF platoon. The relief commissioner's control room is monitoring border districts, while families of stranded UP residents can contact the 1070 helpline, it said.

The Nepal floods were triggered after an ice-rock landslide blocked a river near the country's border with China. The floods have affected several districts and left at least 826 people missing, according to Nepal's disaster management authorities.

Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has said nearly 300 Indian tourists are among those reported missing.

The flash floods have caused extensive damage to bridges and roads, with several major highways blocked.

In Maharajganj, District Magistrate Gaurav Singh Sogarwal and Superintendent of Police Shakti Mohan Avasthy inspected the Narayani river and adjoining areas and reviewed flood preparedness.

They also boarded an SDRF boat near the tail fall to assess rescue arrangements. Sogarwal directed revenue, police, SSB and SDRF personnel to continuously monitor the river and remain ready for relief and rescue operations. He appealed to residents to stay away from the river and low-lying areas.

In neighbouring Kushinagar, the administration has stepped up preparations amid rising water levels of the Gandak, known locally as Narayani.

District Magistrate Mahendra Singh Tanwar, accompanied by Superintendent of Police Keshav Kumar, inspected vulnerable riverside villages and the Valmikinagar barrage and urged residents to remain alert and stay away from the river and low-lying areas.

In Balrampur, a condolence meeting was held at the Samajwadi Party (SP) office to pay tribute to those killed in the Nepal disaster. Gaisri MLA Rakesh Yadav, whose constituency borders Nepal, announced that the SP would send relief material, including medicines, medical equipment, food packets, tents, tarpaulins and drinking water, to flood-affected areas in Nepal.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Gonda's BJP MP Kirti Vardhan Singh expressed grief over the deaths and disappearance of Indian tourists in Nepal, saying the Indian government is assisting in relief-and-rescue operations.