Noida floods: Over 5,000 displaced people fed free meals as relief work continues

Noida: More than 5,000 displaced people were given free breakfast and lunch by the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration on Friday, as relief work continued apace in the flood-struck areas of the district, officials claimed.

Teams of the NDRF, the SDRF, the PAC, local police and firefighters continued to move people and animals from risky areas to safer locations, they said.

District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma and Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh are overseeing the operations at the ground, they added.

"During their inspection, the DM and the police chief visited Nangli Wajidpur, Nangli Shakarpur villages and nearby areas where rescue teams are at work to help stranded people. The top officers also visited shelter homes where the displaced people are staying and being given proper meals as per guidelines," District Information Officer Rakesh Chauhan said.

According to officials, the people in shelter homes and those who are still stranded were served breakfast and lunch till 2 pm on Thursday.

The administration is prepared to arrange for meals over the next couple of days, if required, they said.

"For breakfast, we served them soupy items along with rusk, bread, namkeen and biscuits. Milk powder has also been distributed for young children and infants. For lunch, we had 'tehri' (a mixture of rice and vegetables)," District Supply Officer Chaman Sharma told PTI.

"We have one major spot for distribution of free meals and have three to four mobile vans carrying 500 to 600 small packets of food and snacks," Sharma said.

The officer said, at the latest count, around 20 people of his department, another 40-50 from other departments, and about a dozen cooks were at work to prepare and supply food to the flood-affected people.

According to Irrigation Department officials, the water level in Yamuna on Friday was at 200.75 metres at the Okhla Barrage in Noida – a little above the danger mark of 200.60 metres which it crossed on Thursday at 11.45 am.

The water discharge continued to be at 3,48,765 cusecs at the Okhla Barrage, a little above its capacity but constant from Thursday, officials said.

Waterlogging was also witnessed near high-rise residential societies in Sector 137, with Noida Authority officials saying the water from drains was flowing back due to pressure in Yamuna.