Varanasi Activates 21 Flood Posts and Readies 46 Relief Camps as Ganga Rises

VARANASI: The district administration has activated 21 flood posts and readied 46 relief camps as the Ganga continues to rise, shifting the city’s monsoon response from routine monitoring to advance deployment.

Additional District Magistrate for Finance and Revenue Dr Sadanand Gupta said 37 of the camps are in Sadar tehsil, six in Rajatalab and three in Pindra. Together they can accommodate 7,392 people. Fifteen additional temporary sites in Sadar have been identified with space for another 3,785 if evacuations expand.

Officials have mapped 195 villages and urban neighbourhoods considered vulnerable: 150 in Sadar, 24 in Rajatalab and 21 in Pindra. Seven of the flood posts have wireless arrangements, according to the preparedness update. NDRF, SDRF, Water Police, PAC personnel and trained Aapda Mitra volunteers are part of the response plan, with mock drills used to test coordination.

At 6 pm, the Ganga was reported at 67.1 metres and rising by about four centimetres an hour. River levels and the rate of rise can change, so residents should treat that number as a time-stamped reading rather than a current guarantee. The Central Water Commission was providing updates at two-hour intervals.

The administration has instructed teams to work towards “zero response time”. In practice, that phrase should mean boats are fuelled, crews know their sector, shelters can open at short notice and contact lists actually work. It cannot mean every call will be reached instantly in congested lanes or during severe weather. Honest travel-time estimates and local volunteers are essential.

A relief camp also needs more than floor space. Safe drinking water, toilets, lighting, privacy for women, charging points, basic medicines and arrangements for infants, older people and people with disabilities determine whether families can use it. Livestock plans matter in rural areas because residents may resist leaving if animals are abandoned.

The district control room listed 0542-2508550, 0542-2504170, the emergency number 1077 and mobile 9140037137 in the briefing. Residents should save the numbers, but call only with clear information: location, number of people, water depth or medical need. In an immediate life-threatening emergency, the general emergency service should also be contacted.

People in low-lying areas should move documents and medicines to a waterproof bag, charge phones and identify a safe route before water enters the street. Children must be kept away from ghats, drains and floodwater, which can hide current, sewage and live electrical hazards.

Varanasi has lived through rising Ganga seasons before. Preparedness is credible when the mapped post, boat crew and shelter work as one system. The next days will test not the size of the plan on paper, but how early warnings reach the family standing closest to the water.