Assam floods, landslides claim 62 lives
Floods and resultant landslides in Assam have claimed 62 lives this year so far.
In the last 24 hours, eight people have died after drowning in flood waters - two each in Barpeta and Karimganj districts, one each in Darrang, Hailakandi, Nalbari and Sonitpur districts and eight people are still missing.
According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), out of the 62 people, 51 died in floods and 11 in landslides.
Nearly 3.1 million people of 32 districts - Bajali, Baksa, Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Cachar, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Dima Hasao, Goalpara, Hojai, Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Karbi Anglong West, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Sivasagar, South Salmara, Tamulpur, Tinsukia, Udalguri, have been affected in the second wave of the deluge.
More than 731,000 people were affected in Barpeta district followed by 354,000 in Darrang district, 352,000 in Bajali, 241,000 lakh in Nagaon, 221,000 in Goalpara, 218,000 in Kamrup, 165,000 in Nalbari, 114,000 in Lakhimpur, 125,000 in Hojai and 113,000 in Bongaigaon.
Following the torrential rains in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and neighbouring country Bhutan, the water level of all major rivers of the state are rising and many rivers are flowing above the danger level in several places.
The water level of Beki, Manas, Pagladiya, Puthimari, Kopili, Jia-Bharali and Brahmaputra is above the danger level mark in many places of the state.
The administration of the flood-hit districts has set up 514 relief camps and 302 relief distribution centres and 156,365 people are currently taking shelter in the relief camps.
Many flood-affected people are taking shelter on roads, embankments and high lands after the flood water inundated their homes.
The ASDMA report said that 4,291 villages under 118 revenue circles are reeling under flood waters and 66,455.82 hectares of cropland were submerged by flood waters.
More than 2.5 million animals have been affected.
In the last 24 hours, the rescue teams of the Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDFR), Fire and Emergency Services and district administration have rescued 9,102 persons including children and women from different flood-affected areas in 22 districts.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has instructed all district administration to make sure adequate food supply is ensured in all flood-affected districts, relief operations don’t get compromised and all Deputy Commissioners should place requests for additional human resources for relief operation to the personnel department.
Further, the chief minister directed all breach points to be identified by the water resources department and temporary closed works to be undertaken immediately after the receding of flood water, all DCs should take robust steps to monitor the flood-affected areas.
The state government is monitoring the availability of fuel and essential food items in Barak Valley districts in view of the current landslide situation on the connecting roads.