10 killed in floods in Bihar, UP

New Delhi, Aug 24 (PTI) Ten people were killed and lakhsaffected due to floods in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengalwhere major rivers are flowing above danger mark, while twoboys are feared dead after they were washed away in flashfloods in the Tawi river in Jammu today. In Uttar Pradesh, two persons were killed since yesterdayin the floods which have affected around 8.7 lakh people in987 villages of 28 districts in the state, officials said. NDRF teams have been sent to Varanasi, Allahabad,Ghazipur and Ballia, Relief Commissioner D K Singh said,adding, "In these four districts, 30,247 people have beenshifted to the relief camps, while 62,397 have been moved tosafer places." The situation has worsened due to release of water fromNepal and the adjoining states of Madhya Pradesh andUttarakhand which has led to further rise in the water levelsof the major rivers, he said. In Bihar, with seven fresh deaths, the toll in thecurrent round of floods mainly due to the swollen Ganga riverrose to 29. While five deaths were reported from Samastipur, one eachwas reported in Nalanda and Khagaria, a release by StateDisaster Management Authority said, adding the floods causedby rising waters of Ganga, Sone, Punpun, Burhi Gandak, Ghaghraand Kosi have affected 29.71 lakh people in 4,222 villages in24 districts of the state. In Aurangabad district, one person was killed and eightothers feared dead when a country boat ferrying flood victimscapsized in swollen Punpun river last evening. With the latest deaths, toll in Bihar floods includingthose in Kosi areas earlier, has risen to 127. Except for a light downpour in Gaya, major parts of Bihardid not witness any rain today. Heavy rains lashed the national capital bringing down themercury two notches below normal even as humidity levels rose. "The maximum temperature was recorded at 31.8 degreesCelsius, two notches below normal while the minimumtemperature was 27 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal," aMeT official said. The Safdarjung observatory recorded 5.6 mm rainfall.Humidity levels oscillated between 87 an 64 per cent. In Jammu, two teenage brothers are feared dead after theywere washed away in flash floods in the Tawi river, whileanother youth was rescued, police said. In West Bengal, West Midnapore, Hooghly, Howrah, Bankura,Burdwan and Nadia districts are affected due to release ofwater by Damodar Valley Corporation. In Malda district, around135 houses were washed away due to erosion in the Ganga river,while 20 villages were inundated with rise in water level ofthe river. A few places in the state received little or moderaterains since yesterday, while Kolkata recorded maximumtemperature of 32.1 degrees Celsius. In Punjab and Haryana maximum temperatures hovered closeto normal levels, even as light rain lashed a few places. PTITEAM NSD ZMNNSD