In Uttar Pradesh, the flood situation continues to remain grim in many districts and more than 5 lakh people is affected. The number of flood affected districts in state has reached 26.  Although it rained mostly in Bundelkhand and western part of the state recently but now the swollen rivers are recking havoc in Central and Purvanchal region. Low laying areas of districts like Kanpur Prayagraj Varanasi Ghazipur baliya, farookhabad, Gorakhpur Ayodhya, badayun Barabanki are submerged in water. Nearly 20-metre stretch of National Highway 31 was washed away by a swollen Saryu river in Ballia district, disrupting traffic movement between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar via the Manjhi bridge. Administration closed schools in many districts yesterday in the wake of the flood situation.