Kolkata: The flood situation in Assam further worsened on Saturday as rains continued in most parts of the state and neighbouring states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Bhutan, triggering flash floods in the state.
Close to a million people have been affected in 611 villages across 19 districts of the state. Eight people have died so far and 30 hectares of cropland are under flood water.
Water level of the rivers flowing through the districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Barpeta, Jorhat, Baska, Sonitpur and Dibrugarh had risen alarmingly, while in Nalbari, Sivasagar and Tinsukia districts it was maintaining a rising trend, a report from the Water Resources Department said. Brahmputra River was flowing above the danger level at Nematighat in Jorhat and Dibrugarh and was maintaining a rising trend in most of the other districts.
Rescue operations are said to be underway. Six columns of the India army have been deployed and it has rescued 1,500 people from the worst flood affected areas of Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar Districts. The state administration has said flood waters are likely to release in a day or two.
As per reports, one woman, who was swept away by flood waters after a vehicle in which she was travelling plunged into Gouranga River in Dhubri District last night, has been rescued.
State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has reviewed the flood situation in Guwahati and instructed concerned departments to take all measures to help the flood-hit people. Gogoi also asked the department to provide necessary food, medicine, drinking water and baby food to relief camp inmates.
Till Friday evening, 177 relief camps were in operation, sheltering 200,000 people. Three national parks of Kaziranga, Manas and Dibru Saikhowa have also been affected, but there has been no loss of wildlife so far. 179 anti-poaching camps in national park came under flood water on Friday morning, as per the report of state flood bulletin.
In lower Assam districts, surging water by tributaries of Brahmaputra River wreaked havoc, with landslides affecting roads across the state.
The state fears that further rainfall could spell disaster for many in the region. “The situation is grim and further rainfall has been predicted in the Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Goalpara districts in the next 24-hours,” said Nandita Hazarika, SPO of Assam State Disaster Management Authority.
