Lucknow: Even as there are no official figures on the number of Uttar Pradesh residents in Uttarakhand, which has been devastated by heavy rain and flash floods, a control room has been set up in the Director General of Police office here to assist families in securing information about their relatives.

The control room will be under the supervision of Superintendent of Police Rakesh Pradhan, who will be assisted by three Deputy Superintendents of Police round-the-clock.

Inspector General (Special Task Force) Ashish Gupta said the police control room can be contacted on 9454402510. Deputy Superintendents of Police M.S. Gaur, Ajay Pratap and Dharmendra Sachan can be reached on 9454401674, 9454401675 and 9454405198 respectively.

Mr. Gupta said it will be better if information about stranded persons is sent via text messages. He said the U.P. Police will establish contact with the Uttarakhand control room for any information.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has sanctioned Rs.25 crore to the Uttarakhand Government for rescue and relief measures.

Meanwhile, the flood situation in State abated on Thursday as the Ganga and the Yamuna showed a receding trend, barring the Sharda which is flowing 75 cm above danger level in Barabanki. About 1,000 people were evacuated in Saharanpur and 718 in Muzaffarnagar district, where 32 villages have been marooned.

An official spokesman said that while Laksar road remained closed for the fifth consecutive day, the level of the Yamuna was decreasing in Shamli, where some 144 people have been taken to safer places.

Many houses in Bijnor district’s Shimlakalan village have been washed away by the swirling Ganga waters, but rescue teams managed to evacuate 144 villagers.

Two persons reportedly died in Lakhimpur Kheri district, but the spokesman said these were not flood-related deaths.