Yamuna 2m above danger mark in Loni, gulps 142 hectares of farmland

Ghaziabad: With the Yamuna flowing 2 metre above the danger mark, the flood situation in Loni continues to remain grim. Alerts have been issued in at least six villages."In Pachyera, the river was flowing at 211.8m from 8pm on Wednesday until Thursday morning. After 10am on Thursday, a marginal dip of 5cm was recorded," said Binod Kumar Singh, executive engineer in the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department. "The 18km Alipore embankment — 9.6km of which falls in Loni and the rest in Baghpat district — is intact except for minor breaches in a few places that have been attended to. The embankment has been containing water pressure of more than 2 lakh cusecs constantly for the past few days. The irrigation department is keeping round-the-clock vigil, and affected stretches are being fortified with sandbags," added Singh.Additional district magistrate Saurabh Bhatt said floodwater had swallowed over 142 hectares of agricultural land and about a dozen houses in the Yamuna floodplain. "This land is used to grow sugarcane and vegetables, which have now been washed away," he said. Ramandand Singh of Pachyera village said, "For now, we have taken shelter in the homes of relatives who live on the other side of the embankment, but our crops are destroyed completely. Every inch of our fields is under water." Baabbu, another villager, said, "I had leased out my farmland to private parties, but they were all forced to leave the area. I had hoped to earn money from agricultural produce, but now, there is very little chance of this." Bhatt said 55 families had been evacuated to safer locations so far. "Food and medical supplies are being provided to those staying in 12 shelter camps. Bottled water is available because there is a risk of outbreak of waterborne diseases. Apart from this, 250 packets of cooked food are being provided every day to affected people," he said."An NDRF rescue team is on standby, and the embankment portion is well lit in case we have to conduct a rescue operation. Around dusk, the team carries out inspections of villages like Badarpur, Illaichipur and Pachyera to look for any trapped villagers," Bhatt added.So far, the Hindon has been flowing at 200m, which is 6m below the danger level. "There is no cause for worry except for in low-lying areas, where floodwater has entered," said Singh.