New Delhi: Ten more teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed yesterday for rescue and relief operations in flood-hit Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Over 33,000 marooned people from various states had been rescued by the forces.
With continuous rains and people refusing to leave their homes, the forces have deployed ‘boat ambulances’ where pre-hospitalisation treatment and medicines are being provided to the affected.
“The 10 teams that were airlifted yesterday for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have been deployed. We are intensifying our operations,” chief O.P. Singh told PTI. He said that a special control room had also been set up to monitor the situation
The official said that according to reports they had received from flood-affected areas of Uttar Pradesh, the water level was increasing by 1 cm per hour in areas around Varanasi and had risen about 15 cm during the day yesterday.
Varanasi and Ghazipur were water logged, the official said.
“So far, NDRF teams have evacuated/rescued 33,210 people and provided medicine assistance to 9,197 needy people,” the national contingency force said, adding rescue operations in four other states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Assam are in “full swing”.
Apart from the 10 teams sent yesterday, 17 rescue teams of the NDRF were already present in Bihar.
As per data, while 650 people were rescued from Patna, 1,580 from Didarganj, 450 from Sonepur, 65 from Vaisali, 780 people from Bakhtiyarpur and 300 people and 10 cattles were rescued from Digaghat Danapur to safer locations.
“Thus, NDRF has rescued a total of 14,178 people in last four days in Bihar,” it said.
Similarly, 19 teams of NDRF are deployed in different parts of Uttar Pradesh.
In order to launch massive operations in the two worst-affected states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the NDRF has created on-ground control rooms in these two states and deputed two senior Deputy Inspector General-rank officers (DIG) to take control of the situation.