2 killed, 1 feared drowned as rain batters East U.P.

Two people were killed and one was feared to have drowned after a car fell from a bridge built on a river stream amid heavy rain in Kushinagar district on Friday night. The deceased were identified as Manoj Yadav, 27, and Guddu Yadav, 24 while the search for the missing Bhim Singh was still underway, police said.

According to reports, four people were in the car that was going from Naurangia to Ramkola. During heavy rain, the speeding car crashed into a wall of Damodar Bridge and fell into the stream. One of the occupants, Subodh Mani, was able to save himself. Bhim Singh, who was said to have jumped out of the car, was missing.

Meanwhile, incessant rain in eastern Uttar Pradesh has caused extensive waterlogging in many areas. In a day’s time, Gorakhpur received 133 mm of rain, Deoria 58 mm, Maharajganj 54 mm and Kushinagar 40 mm.

The downpour on Friday night caused water logging in Rustampur, Shahpur, Daudpur, Rasoolpur and other localities of Gorakhpur. Rainwater, along with drain water, entered a dozen houses in the Chakshah Hussain locality. Later, machines were deployed to flush out the water.

Also, heavy rain in Nepal and the discharge of water from its barrages have added to the woes of eastern U.P. Eight low-lying villages in the Gola town of Gorakhpur have been flooded by river Ghaghra. Chief engineer-Irrigation reported that the Ghaghra had crossed the danger mark at Kartaniya Ghat, Elgin Bridge and Ayodhya Bridge. The swollen river was posing a flood threat for two dozen villages near Barhaj town of Deoria district as it was flowing 1 m above the danger mark.

The Rapti was also gradually increasing. On Saturday evening, it touched 73.84 metre, which is just one metre below the danger mark, official data showed.

According to weather officials, Gorakhpur experienced 278.3 mm of rains so far in August. Abdur Rahman