Gorakhpur (UP): Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday distributed relief materials among the people hit by floods in Gorakhpur district and said the Uttar Pradesh government was committed to help all those affected by flooding and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adityanath is on a two-day visit to Gorakhpur, his home district. He distributed relief packets among the flood-hit people in Pali block’s Degree College. “I have come here to be with you in this time amid the coronavirus pandemic and the challenge of floods. Good and bad days are part of life,” the chief minister said.
The flood situation in Uttar Pradesh improved on Tuesday, with three districts being dropped from the list of 19 affected places. A total of 517 villages in these 16 districts are affected by flooding and 268 have been marooned, officials said. A number of the flood-hit districts are in eastern UP, including Gorakhpur, Gonda, Ballia, Deoria and Sitapur. Adityanath has asked district magistrates to prioritise flood relief work.
“On one hand we are facing the challenge of coronavirus and floods and on the other, we are also celebrating Krishna Janmashtami, for which I congratulate all,” he said. “The life of Krishna inspires us to follow the path of Dharma, Satya and Nyay.”
Later, Adityanath met officials at circuit house and discussed the coronavirus and flood challenge. He also reviewed the progress of a child hospital being built at BRD Medical College. The chief minister said the encephalitis situation in easter UP has been controlled to a large extent, adding data “clearly states that now the death rate due to encephalitis and other vector-borne diseases is under control by 90 per cent.”
“We will continue our efforts to also defeat the coronavirus in the same manner,” he said. Adityanath said the Uttar Pradesh government was conducting COVID-19 tests on a massive scale but it will take time to test all as the state population was 24 crore. He also said that because of timely implementation of lockdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “we are able to meet the challenge.”
The state has reported a total of 1,31,763 coronavirus cases. On Tuesday, it reported its highest single-day spike of 5,041 cases, and 56 more people died due to the disease. The total number of fatalities in the state is 2,176, officials said.
Source: PTI
