New Delhi, India (BBN)– The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners are assisting the Indian government in rushing relief supplies to millions of people who have been uprooted from their homes in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttarakhand by heavy floods.
The agency has supplied tarpaulin sheets, jerry cans, water purification tablets and mosquito nets, among other items, to more than 8,000 displaced families in Uttar Pradesh. It has also pre-positioned its supplies in 10 high-risk districts to help 10,000 families.
Nearly 1.7 million people in Uttar Pradesh have been affected by heavy rainfall and floods in the major rivers of the state, a UNICEF press statement said.
The state government there has set up 276 relief posts to distribute food and health supplies.
Meanwhile, the breach of support embankments of the Gandhak River has resulted in the flooding of 35 villages in Gopalganj and Siwan districts in Bihar.
The central government has rushed in relief to the affected areas and deployed battalions from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to Haridwar and Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, Gopalgunj in Bihar and Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.
BBN/SI/AD-25Sept10-12:46 pm (BST)
