Lucknow, Aug 19 - Release of water from barrages in Nepal and heavy rain have flooded hundreds of villages and affected hundreds of thousands of people in several parts of Uttar Pradesh, officials said Wednesday.

According to officials, in the past two days, over 500,000 cusecs of water have been released from Banbasa and other barrages situated near the India-Nepal border, flooding villages in Shrawasti, Sitapur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Kushinagar, Maharajganj and Bahraich districts.

In Bahraich district, rivers flowing in spate have inundated as many as 185 villages affecting nearly 300,000 people. Taking into account the rising trend of water in Saryu, Ghagra and Sharda rivers, the district administration in Bahraich, 270 km from Lucknow, have started evacuating villagers.

'It seems the (flood) situation will not improve in near future...The water level in rivers is rising continuously and has now even crossed the danger mark. On an average, we are witnessing 2 cm water level rising every hour,' Bahraich district magistrate Subhash Sharma told IANS over phone.