Prayagraj: The risk of flooding in Sangam city is looming large due to continuous rainfall and release of flood water from dams concerned. Acknowleding the rising and receding trend of water levels, the district administration has mobilized to tackle the challenge.Rainfall over the past 24 hours in Prayagraj and neighbouring districts has begun to cause difficulties for the masses. Meanwhile, 3.06 lakh cusecs of water were released from the Ganga Barrage in Kanpur on Monday night and its impact is likely to be felt starting Tuesday night. According to the Water Commission’s report, the water level at Kanpur Barrage at 8am on Tuesday was approximately 26 cm below the danger mark. In view of the flood conditions, around 3,09,365 cusecs of water are being discharged from the Kanpur Ganga Barrage. Water is also being released from upstream barrages, discharges of 1,00,375 cusecs from Haridwar Barrage and 77,819 cusecs from Narora Barrage have been recorded.The released water could reach Prayagraj within 24 hours, potentially creating a crisis for residents living in low lying areas. The release of floodwaters into the rivers and continuous rain in neighboring districts have heightened the flood risk for a population of over 20 lakh living in the urban and rural areas of Prayagraj. Although the water levels of both the Ganga and Yamuna rivers in Prayagraj remain about two meters below the danger mark of 84.73 meters, the water level continued to rise in early Tuesday.At 4 pm, the water level of Ganga at Phaphamau and Chhatnag recorded 82.90 and 81.83 m respectively while water level of Yamuna at Naini stood at 82.28 m. Water level of Yamuna at Naini receded 09 cm in past four hours and the water level of Ganga at Phaphamau increased 01 cm while it receded at Chhatnag.The impact is already visible in both urban and rural pockets as floodwaters have started entering in nine low-lying neighborhoods within the city. With water entering riverfronts in city and neighborhoods such as Daraganj, Chhota Baghada, Mau Saraiya, Ganga Nagar, Om Nagar, Shanti Puram, and Uchwa Garhi, groups of residents have also started moving their household belongings and valuables to upper floors of their homes. In rural areas, the population living across the Ganga is at greater risk from the floods than those across the Yamuna.More than 102 villages in the district face a threat from floodwaters. In the Meja, Koraon, and Naribari areas, the rising waters of the Tons and Bhoganvelan rivers threaten to wreak havoc as their combined floodwaters could flow into the Yamuna, further exacerbating the flood situation.The district administration is maintaining a close watch and assumed that the escalating flood situation could pose a major challenge for them if water level rises rapidly in next 24 hours. Vinita Singh, the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) in charge of flood relief, said that the administration is prepared to tackle the floods.As many as 88 flood relief posts have been set up in Prayagraj so far. An NDRF team comprising 30 personnel, two PAC companies, and a Jal police team are currently active. Additional disaster response forces will be deployed if the need arises. Besides, 93 camps have been set up in the city for flood victims, with over 100 affected individuals having arrived so far.
