 "Flood situation improves in Uttar Pradesh; 17 districts affected now")
The flood situation in Uttar Pradesh improved on Thursday and the number of districts affected by the deluge came down to 17 from 19 on the previous day, officials said here.
Pilibhit and Sant Kabir Nagar are no longer on the list of affected districts, they said.
"The flood situation is improving in the state. There are 17 flood-affected districts, where 893 villages are affected, of which 562 are marooned," state Relief Commissioner Sanjay Goel said.
Till Wednesday, 19 districts with 922 villages were affected by the flood.
The affected districts are Ambedkarnagar, Ayodhya, Azamgarh, Bahraich, Ballia, Barabanki, Basti, Deoria, Farrukhabad, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Kasganj, Kushinagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Mau, Shahjananpur and Sitapur.
The relief commissioner said the Sharda river at Palia Kalan in Lakhimpur Kheri, the Rapti river in Shravasti and the Saryu river in Ayodhya and Turtipar in Ballia were flowing above the danger mark.
He said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to monitor water levels of rivers and alert people residing in nearby villages if necessary.