Flood alert in Noida, around 200 people evacuated from Hindon banks
Noida (PTI): The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has issued a flood warning for low-lying regions along the Hindon as water discharge in the river increased, officials said on Sunday.
Around 200 people from five villages have been evacuated and shifted to shelter homes after the alert was raised on Saturday, they said.
The river is flowing below the danger mark of 205-metre in the district, bordering Delhi in western Uttar Pradesh, according to a senior officer.
"Around 200 people from five villages have been evacuated and shifted to shelter homes that have been set up by the administration to provide them accommodation, food and health care," Additional District Magistrate Atul Kumar told PTI.
"The Hindon is currently flowing at 200-metre, below the danger mark of 205-metre," said Kumar, who is also the nodal officer for flood relief work in Gautam Buddh Nagar.
The district is located between Hindon and Yamuna rivers. The district recently witnessed floods along the Yamuna river banks, which submerged 550 hectares of low-lying land, and impacted thousands of people and animals.
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All arrangements in place for second phase of polling in West Bengal on April 29: Poll official
Kolkata (PTI): All arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections on April 29, Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters, Agarwal asserted that there would be no bogus voting and no disturbances.
"We have made all arrangements. For every possible issue, there is a remedy that will be applied at the right place,” he said.
"The election process is being handled uniformly across the state and not viewed separately in phases," he said.
Referring to the first phase of polling held on April 23, Agarwal said voting was peaceful due to coordinated efforts of the administration, police, central forces, political parties and voters.
"Preparations have been further strengthened for the concluding phase," he said, adding that he had visited several districts and sensitive areas to review preparedness.
"There is strong enthusiasm among people to vote. The 93 per cent turnout in the first phase has set a new benchmark, and in many places, people are aiming to surpass that figure in the second phase," he said.
On incidents of unrest ahead of the polls, Agarwal said such occurrences were not new and similar incidents had taken place before the first phase, but the situation remained under control on polling day.
He said the state police and central forces were fully prepared to maintain law and order and ensure peaceful voting.
A total of 3,21,73,837 people -- 1,64,35,627 men, 1,57,37,418 women and 792 third-gender voters -- are eligible to cast their votes across 142 assembly segments in seven districts in the second phase, officials said.
Polling will be held at 41,001 polling stations, all of which will be covered by webcasting. A total of 2,321 companies of central forces have been deployed, with the highest deployment of 273 companies in Kolkata, they said.
Returning officers have also been directed to ensure the movement of polling personnel from booths to receiving centres under proper security arrangements immediately after the conclusion of voting, they added.
Agarwal said deployment of central forces for the second phase began on Sunday, adding that earlier there had been a relative shortage of forces.
"Taking advantage of that, miscreants indulged in incidents of unrest and intimidation," he said.
As many as 142 general observers, 95 police observers and 100 expenditure observers have been deployed, while drones fitted with cameras will be used to monitor the polling process.
A total of 1,448 candidates are in the fray in this phase. Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district has the highest number of candidates at 19, while Goghat in Hooghly district has the lowest at five.
Among the prominent candidates contesting in this phase are Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur, state ministers Sujit Bose in Bidhannagar, Firhad Hakim in Kolkata Port, Jyoti Priya Mallick in Habra, Bratya Basu in Dum Dum and Sovandeb Chattopadhyay in Ballygunge, and BJP's Arjun Singh in Noapara, Swapan Dasgupta in Rashbehari and Rudranil Ghosh in Shibpur.
Also in the fray are CPI(M)'s Minakshi Mukherjee in Uttarpara, Dipsita Dhar in Dum Dum Uttar against state minister Chandrima Bhattacharjee, Kalatan Dasgupta in Panihati against BJP’s Ratna Debnath, mother of the doctor raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and ISF MLA Nawsad Siddiqui in Bhangar.
Asked about the alleged attack on TMC MP Mitali Bag, Agarwal said, "Three aspects are emerging in the incident. In some places, it is being described as an intra-party conflict. Reports have been sent by the district magistrate and the police. The EC will examine all reports and the entire matter before commenting."
In the first phase, polling was held for 152 seats across 16 districts on April 23. A voter turnout of 93.19 per cent, the highest in the state's history, was recorded.
