Boat ops banned as Ganga level rises; ghats submerged

Varanasi: Due to continuous rise in the water level of Ganga, the district administration has imposed a ban on boat operations in the river till September 15. The river continued to rise in Mirzapur, Ghazipur and Ballia also but was flowing below the danger mark.
District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said the restriction has been imposed for the sake of public safety. The police stations of the respective areas have been directed to enforce the compliance of the order.
The swelling river has broken the connectivity of the ghats and made them slippery. It has submerged steps of the steps along the entire stretch of the riverfront in the city. Besides, the river is also on the rise in neighbouring districts, officials said.
According to the flood bulletin of the Middle Ganga Division-3 of the Central Water Commission, the water level of Ganga rose up to 0.5 m in the last 24 hours in the city. The river was flowing at the mark of 65.79 m on Wednesday, about 5.47 mt below the danger mark (71.262m).
In Mirzapur, the river’s water level rose up to 0.54m in the last 24 hours, though the river was flowing 6.56m below the danger mark (77.724m) on Wednesday.
Ghazipur too recorded a rise of 0.40m in water level of Ganga on Wednesday, though the river was flowing 3.74m below the danger mark (63.105m). Ballia is facing a grave flood threat with water level approaching the danger mark. Though a rise of 0.14m was recorded in the last 24 hours, the river was flowing just 1.21m below the danger mark (57.615m) on Wednesday.