Prayagraj: The sacred Mandakini River—which bore witness to Lord Shri Ram’s eleven-and-a-half-year exile—has taken a furious form with a rapid rise in its water level after around two decades. While the Ramghat and adjoining areas are the worst affected, residents of Karvi town and Badhoin village are also facing the river’s fury.The incessant rains and flood in the famous Mandakini river have dented the tourism prospects in Chitrakoot as only a handful of pilgrims are visible in the land of penance. Streets leading to monasteries, temples, hotels, and guesthouses are filled with silt and mud.The Mandakini river covers a catchment area of 300 square kilometres within the Chitrakoot region, spanning across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. When the river surged on Aug 29, its water level rose to 135.200 metres—approximately 8.5 metres above the danger mark of 126.5 metres. On Wednesday, the water level of Mandakini was recorded at 127.1 metres.Locals pointed out that the most severe damage has occurred in areas where the flow was obstructed along the several-kilometre stretch extending from its source at the Sati Anusuya Ashram to the confluence of Yamuna and Mandakini rivers.Floodwaters inundated shops at Ramghat, the tempo stand, Purani Lanka, the Kamadgiri route, and settlements along the riverbank. More than 60 people were evacuated to safety from Ramghat and Taraunha. Drone surveillance is being conducted in the Ramghat and Nirmohi Akhara areas. As floodgates were opened after all four dams were filled to capacity due to continuous rainfall, the low-lying areas of more than a dozen villages were inundated in floodwater. Around 400 kachha houses have been damaged. More than 30 homes have collapsed.Additional DG (Prayagraj zone) Jyoti Narayan, who reached Chitrakoot on Wednesday to assess the ground situation, told TOI that teams of NDRF, SDRF, and jal police have been roped in for the rescue operations. “The Ramghat and adjoining areas were the worst affected. Local administration and police are appealing to the people living in areas along the river bank to shift to safer places,” he added.The ADG said, “Boats are being plied to fetch drinking water, food and daily essentials to flood-hit areas.” The bridge connecting UP and MP near Ramghat has also been submerged.Locals asserted that the incessant rains in Markundi, Manikpur and other catchment areas have caused a flood in Chitrakoot district. The Mandakini river’s fury was earlier witnessed once in 2003, and now, after around 23 years, the river has again wreaked havoc in the region.Ram Das, a local resident, said, “The entire ‘84 Kos’ region of the holy city has been submerged in the floodwaters due to the swelling of several rivers—including the Mandakini—and the release of water from the dams.”The Kari Barah causeway on the Manikpur-Satna route was badly damaged by strong currents. The traffic remains disrupted on the Chitrakoot-Satna route as the rising water levels undid the efforts to restore the road, which had previously been washed away.
