Ganga water level surges in Bijnor villages, 16 rescued

Bijnor: Heavy rains over the last few days have caused Ganga river to swell significantly, flooding Bijnor. Within 24 hours, water levels in the river rose from 26,000 to 1.34 lakh cusecs, endangering nearby villages and resulting in rescue operations.
Piyush Baliyan, a junior engineer at the Ganga Barrage irrigation department, said: “The Ganga is now flowing at 119.40 metres, just 0.6 metres below the danger mark.We have urged people to stay away from the river.”
The Ganga’s fast currents have started eroding agricultural land, affecting over 25 villages, including Gauspur, Fatehpur, Daibalgarh, Brahampuri, Ravali, and Simala. Brahampuri, situated at the confluence of the Ganga and Malan rivers, is submerged. The Malan river bridge is also underwater, disconnecting hundreds of people from the district headquarters.
Additionally, the Malan river water has inundated Alipur village and Khairullapur mohalla in Najibabad town, leading to the police’s rescue of 16 individuals. Najibabad CO Deep Kumar Pant stated, “We have rescued at least 16 people from the Najibabad area due to the flooding.”
A forest department vehicle was swept away by Nakta river in Barhapur area but was recovered after hours of operation.
Bijnor district magistrate Ankit Agarwal issued an advisory for residents to stay away from rivers and ponds. He said, “We have mobilised the revenue, health, and agriculture departments to monitor villages along the rivers. Flood pickets have been established in sensitive areas.” Statistics show that over 321 villages along the riverbanks face flood threats annually.