Ganga nears warning level in Kashi, Ballia already inundated
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Varanasi: The water level of the Ganga river continued to rise steadily crossing the 69.60-metre mark in Varanasi on Thursday evening, just below the official warning level of 70.26metre, raising fresh concerns of flooding in low-lying areas.
In Ballia, the situation turned critical as the river flowed at 58.18metre, nearly one metre above the danger mark of 57.61metre.
According to the daily bulletin of the Central Water Commission (CWC), Ganga is on an upward trend in several districts. In Varanasi, the river had briefly shown a receding trend after reaching close to the warning level a fortnight ago but did not fall below the 57-metre mark before beginning to rise again on Tuesday evening.
Flooding concerns have deepened in multiple areas along the Varuna river—Ganga's tributary—particularly in six localities including Salarpur, Saraiya, Nakkighat, Dhelwariya, Daniyalpur, and Hukulganj, where floodwaters returned after a 10-day respite. Over 1,000 residents in the downstream areas of Varuna have already been affected for the past two weeks.
The rising waters have also impacted daily life along the ghats.
Cremations at Manikarnika and Harishchandra ghats have been shifted to higher platforms, and the evening Ganga Aartis have been relocated accordingly. The river police outpost at Dashaswamedh Ghat has been fully submerged.
In Mirzapur, upstream of Varanasi, the Ganga was flowing at 75.16 metre—just over 1.5 metre below the warning level of 76.72 metre. In Ghazipur, the water level is approaching the warning mark of 62.30 metre, with steady rise being observed.
The record highest level of the Ganga in Varanasi remains 73.90 metre, recorded in 1978. Officials are closely monitoring the situation, with alerts issued in vulnerable areas and flood control teams on standby.
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Hindustan Times
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- Hindustan Times
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Hindustan Times
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