UP: Water levels rise in Ganges in Varanasi; ban on plying small boats in river

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 19 (ANI): The rising water level of the Ganges in Varanasi has led to the submerging of steps at various ghats in the temple town.

Authorities have banned the operations of small boats in the river to prevent any accidents from taking place.

Although rains have subsided over the last couple of weeks, water from the mountains is now slowly starting to show effects in the plains. This has led to water in the Ganga river rising continuously.

The rising water level has been submerging the stairs of the Ghats and in some places, the floors of some temples located on the banks of the river have been inundated.

Madan Sahani, a local who lives near the Ghats, said, “The water level has now reached 10 feet. People are not able to go to other Ghats now. This has also led to tourism getting affected and small boat owners have stopped travelling to the Ghats.”,

Manish Kumar, a small boat owner, said, “We are not able to row the boats, they are almost at a halt now. The water has reached up to 10 foot. This is now affecting our livelihood; we will have to start taking up smaller jobs to start earning now. The conditions will persist for at least two to three months now.”

Avadhesh, another resident, said, “We are facing a lot of difficulties due to the rising water. All the pilgrims need to know that safety and precautions need to be maintained and that pilgrims should not go deep into the river and the three Ghats –Rajendra Ghat, Sheetla Ghat and Dasha Sumer Ghat. Any kind of incidents can occur.

Additionally, on July 16, around 48 villages in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, were affected due to the rising water levels of the Rapti River.

The water level in the Rapti river rose one metre above the danger level.

Gorakhpur SSP, Gaurav Grover visited a few of the affected villages and assured residents.

As per officials, nearly 18 districts, including Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia, Shahjahanpur, Kushinagar, Shravasti, Balrampur, Lakhimpur, Kheri, Barabanji, Sitapur, Gonda Siddharth Nagar, Moradabad, Bareilly and Basti in Uttar Pradesh, were affected due to the increasing water levels.