Dams worsen north Indian floods
Army launches rescue drive
Reuters, Lucknow
Soldiers were called out on Thursday to rescue thousands of marooned villagers in Uttar Pradesh after water was released from dams in neighbouring Nepal. Officials said parts of central and eastern Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, are already reeling under month-long monsoon flooding that has killed 42 people in the state since July. Dozens of villages remain cut off and state relief commissioner Renuka Kumar said army troops were being sent to evacuate people in 15 completely marooned villages and repair breached embankments after the latest flooding this week. Several rivers in the state were flowing above their danger mark, raising the prospect of more flooding in several districts. Hundreds of people are killed every year in South Asia during the June-September monsoon season and millions displaced from their homes or marooned in their villages.
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Indian commuters make their way through floodwater in a water-logged street after a heavy downpour flooded parts of Amritsar in India's northwestern state of Punjab yesterday. PHOTO: AFP |
