LUCKNOW, Sept. 27 -- A mosque that locals said had stood for more than a century was swept away by the Saryu-Ghaghra river in Barabanki's Hetampur village on Sunday as heavy rain and rising water flow intensified riverbank erosion. The advancing river is now threatening an ancient temple and a veterinary hospital, prompting officials to move equipment from the hospital and deploy personnel to check further erosion.

Barabanki district magistrate Ishan Pratap Singh said officials had been deployed at the site to make arrangements to check further erosion and protect vulnerable structures. He directed officials to obtain further details from the Irrigation Department, whose personnel were overseeing the situation.

Irrigation department exe...