Overview

• Heavy monsoon rains have submerged more than 400 villages across 17 districts, displacing over 84,000 people and causing at least 16 deaths in a single day.
• Fisheries Minister Sanjay Nishad told villagers in Kanpur Dehat that the Ganga had arrived to “clean your feet” and take them to heaven, a comment captured on viral video.
• An elderly resident in the flooded village retorted that the minister should “stay here with us and take the blessings of Ganga” herself.
• Opposition leaders from the Samajwadi Party and Congress denounced the remark as insensitive and disconnected from the victims’ hardship.
• Nishad later clarified that his intent was to offer emotional support, highlighting ongoing food distribution and relief operations.