'Failed' UP govt focused on event management than public welfare: Akhilesh on UP floods

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday attacked the BJP government over the worsening flood situation in Uttar Pradesh, saying the "corrupt and failed" regime is more focused on event management than public welfare. In a post on X, the former chief minister said when the state government can organise "super VVIP" rallies, why has it failed to carry out relief and rescue operations in the flood-affected areas.

As of Sunday, floods in Uttar Pradesh had affected 402 villages in 37 tehsils, impacting 84,392 people, according to official data. Seventeen districts -- Kanpur Nagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Agra, Auraiya, Chitrakoot, Ballia, Banda, Ghazipur, Mirzapur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Chandauli, Jalaun, Kanpur Dehat, Hamirpur, Etawah and Fatehpur --have been impacted. "There is a terrifying situation not just in Prayagraj but across the entire state due to floods. People are facing an acute shortage of food and drinking water. Sanitation is in disarray, forcing many to live in inhuman conditions," Yadav said. Children, pregnant women and the elderly are unable to access healthcare due to collapsed medical services, he claimed. "People are scared of rats, poisonous insects and the risk of electric shocks. Houses are collapsing, (people's) belongings have been washed away and people have no clothes left to wear," Yadav said.

He alleged that the administration is missing from the ground while the "corrupt and failed" government is "busy in self-promotion and photo-ops". "People's IDs, ration cards, land papers, bank documents, medical prescriptions, and educational certificates have either been washed away or destroyed. Vehicles have been submerged and livelihoods have been shattered," he said. Yadav also expressed concern over water-borne diseases, education disruption for children, and the inability to perform last rites. The water level of the Ganga river crossed the danger mark in Varanasi on Monday morning, submerging ghats and forcing the authorities to shift cremation and other religious rituals to rooftops and raised platforms. According to the Central Water Commission, the Ganga was flowing at 72.1 metres by Monday morning, above the danger level of 71.262 metres. The SP chief said the public is living in fear and uncertainty, and demanded a point-by-point response from the BJP government. "The images of devastation expose the hollow claims of development and smart cities. People are angry. Relief will come only when the BJP goes," he said.