Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 21 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed senior officials to assess the loss of life, livestock and economic damage caused by excessive rainfall and lightning strikes in the state and ensure that compensation is provided to affected families within 24 hours.

The Chief Minister directed all senior officials to visit the affected areas, take stock of the situation on the ground and provide all possible assistance to the affected families. He also instructed officials to communicate with the affected families and ensure that they receive all necessary assistance.

The Chief Minister has directed every District Magistrate to regularly monitor relief and rescue operations and ensure complete coordination among NDRF, SDRF, PAC, police, revenue, irrigation, health, animal husbandry, and local administration.

The Chief Minister has directed that embankments be monitored 24 hours a day and regular patrolling be ensured.

He said, 'vigilance must be maintained against the possibility of embankments being damaged not only due to natural causes but also by anti-social elements.'

The Chief Minister has directed the relocation of livestock to safe places, ensuring timely vaccination, continuing the channelisation work of rivers without interruption, providing the benefits of the Chief Minister Housing Scheme on a priority basis to poor families affected by fire accidents, and immediately covering open manholes in urban areas.

CM Yogi also appealed to people across the state not to step out of their homes unnecessarily during lightning activity. He also advised people to exercise special caution while bathing in rivers and other water bodies during periods of heavy rainfall.

On Monday, the Chief Minister chaired a high-level review meeting in view of the dual challenge arising from erratic rainfall--one being the prospect of drought in areas with low rainfall, and the other the potential flooding due to excessive rains.

'Whether it is flood or drought, the safety of every citizen, protection of farmers' crops, and safeguarding the livelihood of the common people is the topmost priority of the state government. Relief and rescue strategies should be prepared in accordance with the conditions of each district,' he added.

The Chief Minister directed that in districts where rainfall has been below normal, agricultural activities should not be affected. Maximum utilisation of canals, reservoirs, government tube wells, and other available irrigation resources should be ensured.

Meanwhile, a Red Alert has been issued for Balrampur, Shravasti, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Kasganj, Etah, Rampur, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Sambhal, Badaun and surrounding areas, indicating the likelihood of extremely heavy rainfall.

An Orange Alert, indicating the likelihood of heavy to very heavy rainfall, has been issued for Ghazipur, Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia, Deoria, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Siddharthnagar, Gonda, Sitapur, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Kanpur Dehat, Barabanki, Ayodhya, Ambedkar Nagar, Saharanpur, Hathras, Agra, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Jalaun and surrounding areas.

A Yellow Warning, indicating the likelihood of heavy rainfall, has been issued for Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Jaunpur, Kanpur Nagar, Unnao, Lucknow, Raebareli, Amethi, Sultanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur, along with surrounding areas. (ANI)