Lucknow: One person has died in floods that have affected nearly 2.4 lakh people in over 1,000 villages of Uttar Pradesh's 22 districts, officials said on Tuesday. According to them, of the 1,079 flood-affected villages, 153 have been cut off from the rest of the state. As many as 347 shelter homes have been built in the flood-affected districts where around 21,000 people are staying, sources in the relief commissioner's office said.


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They said 26 teams of NDRF and SDRF have been pressed into action while food packets are being distributed in the flooded areas.


So far, 2,44,279 people have been affected by floods in Uttar Pradesh, according to the relief commissioner's report.


The rising water level of the Ganga and Varuna rivers has submerged parts of Varanasi including its famous ghats, forcing the cremation of bodies brought to the Harishchandra and Manikarnika ghats in nearby streets and on terraces.


The water level of the Ganga in Varanasi district has crossed the danger mark, affecting 28,499 people in 115 villages. Crops in over 608.572 hectares have been affected, sources in the district administration said.


Twenty-seven villages in the Ballia district have been affected by the rise in the water level of the Ganga river. In charge of Ballia's emergency management department, Piyush Singh said one person drowned on Monday when he slipped and fell from a makeshift irrigation dam into the swelling Ganga river.


In Mirzapur, the water level in the Ganga river crossed the danger mark on Monday night but is now receding. In the district, 103 villages have been affected.


Floodwaters have submerged crops on 2,300 hectares of farmland in Hamirpur, Maudah and Sarila.


A sudden gush of water due to heavy rain in the Shivalik hills left many devotees stranded for some time near Maa Shakambari Devi temple in Saharanpur and several parked vehicles partially submerged, an official said.


On getting information about the flooding on Monday, the district authorities brought the pilgrims to a safer place and also towed the vehicles to safety.


The water current swept away a bus and a few vehicles of the pilgrims that were later towed to safety, Suraj Rai, Superintendent of Police (rural) told PTI.


The vehicles, parked near the temple, were unoccupied at the time of the incident, Rai said, adding that the rescue operations ended on Monday evening.


The meteorological department said light to moderate rain and thundershowers occurred at a few places over western Uttar Pradesh and isolated areas in the eastern parts of the state.


Rains were recorded in Fatehpur tehsil in Barabanki, Sahaswan and Dataganj in Budaun each recorded 7 centimetres of rain followed by Etah and Tundla in Firozabad district each logging 6 centimetres of rain.