LUCKNOW: The Indian Army was called in to rescue tens of thousands of stranded villagers in northern India, officials said yesterday, as floods destroyed homes and swamped one of the country’s biggest tiger reserves.
At least 14 more people drowned overnight in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, raising the death toll from floods to more than 200 in the past four days, officials said. Monsoon rains and floods have already killed 1,500 people in India and Nepal since June.
“The death toll could go up further,” G.K. Tandon, a senior Uttar Pradesh official said. “Excess water flow from the upper reaches of rivers coming from Nepal is likely to worsen the situation in some areas.”
Authorities used boats to rescue villagers after heavy rains over the weekend caused rivers to burst their banks and flood new areas. About 57,000 people have been evacuated to camps so far. Television pictures showed soldiers trying to pull old women and children into a boat as others fought for a place.
Authorities said they were trying to trace tigers and other animals inside the Dudhwa National Park. In the country’s east, at least a quarter of a million people were still stranded in the coastal state of Orissa.
Large parts of the state were flooded after authorities were forced to open sluice gates of a dam on the Mahanadi River due to heavy rain.
