Assam floods: 6 more dead, toll touches 52; 21.13 lakh affected

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 5, 2024

The death toll in this year’s floods touched 52 with the fresh death of six more persons on Thursday, according to an official bulletin of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

Four death cases have been reported from Golaghat, one each from Charaideo and Dibrugarh district, the ASDMA said.

21,13,,204 people from 3,208 villages under 107 revenue circles of 29 districts are affected by the deluge.

The affected districts are- Cachar, Kamrup, Goalpara, Nalbari, Morigaon, Sonitpur, Dhubri, Sivasagar, Dhemaji, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, South Salmara, Hailakandi, Nagaon, Dibrugarh, Hojai, Lakhimpur, Kokrajhar, Golaghat, Charaideo, Karimganj, Tinsukia, Darrang, Barpeta, Karbi Anglong West, Kamrup (M), Jorhat, Majuli and Karbi Anglong.

The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger level at Neamatighat, Tezpur, Guwahati, Dhubri and Goalpara, Burhidihing at Chenimari (Khowang)), Dikhou at Sivasagar, Disang at Nanglamuraghat, Dhansiri at Numaligarh, Kopili at Kampur, Kopili at Dharamtul Barak at AP Ghat, BP Ghat, Chotabakra and Fuletrak, Dhaleswari at Gharmura, Katakhal at Matizuri and Kushiyara is flowing above the danger level at Karimganj.

Dhubri is the worst affected with 6,48,806 population followed by Darrang with 1,90,261 population and Cachar with 1,45,926 population affected by the deluge.

247 relief camps and 451 relief distribution centres have been opened for the affected people.

3,93,338 people have taken shelter at different relief camps, 7,24,322 non-camp onmated received food and other relief materials from the relief distribution centres.

Rescue operations continued in many places by NDRF, SDRF, civil defence, trained volunteers, and civil police personnel.

In the last 24 hours, more than 1,000 people have been evacuated by boats.

More than 170 boats have been put into service for rescue operations.

98 domestic animals were washed away and 1,45,980 animals were affected by the deluge, the report stated.

12822.34 quintals of rice, 2301.32 quintals of dal, 687.74 quintals of salt and 24030.51 litres of mustard oil have been distributed among the affected people.

The flood also damaged several roads, dams and other infrastructures disrupting road communication in many places.

In Lakhimpur district, district commissioner Gayatri Devidas Hyalinge restricted plying of heavy vehicles like passenger buses, night super, ultra bus (with passengers), oil tankers, trucks, dumpers, and trailers on the newly constructed Brahmaputra Road cum dyke from Tekeliputa to Lutachur until further order.

As the second wave of flood continues to affect the state, Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria visited flood affected Morigaon district and spent time with the flood hit people of Bhuragaon village.

The Governor interacted with them and took stock of the situation. He also took stock of the prevailing flood situation and directed district administration to make adequate arrangements to meet the requirements of the flood affected people.

Swollen by heavy monsoon rains, Brahmaputra and its tributaries have flooded large parts of Morigaon district affecting more than 55 thousand  people in 3 revenue circles.

Governor Shri Kataria asked District Commissioner Devashish Sarma to immediately reach out to the flood victims with proper relief materials including medical facilities. He asked the Health Department of the district to take care of the  flood affected people especially the aged, lactating mothers and babies. He also took stock of the preliminary flood induced damages in terms of properties, crop land and cattle.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Shiv Mandir sluice gate, BBC Colony from Pandu Port road and Pandunath Devalaya sluice gate in the city to take stock of the flood situation.

Sarma during the visit took stock of the problems faced by the people and the steps taken to address them.

The Chief Minister inspected the drains along the Pandu Port road and directed the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority to take appropriate measures to drain off the accumulated water. He then visited the sluice gate at BBC Colony on Pandu Port Road and the Pandunath Devalaya sluice gate. As there is no guard wall at the Pandunath Devalaya sluice gate and due to the flood waters of the Brahmaputra inundated some areas, the Chief Minister directed the Water Resources Department to construct the guard wall as soon as possible.

The Chief Minister said that appropriate steps will be taken to solve the flood problem in these areas. He said the Water Resources Department and the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority have been directed to address the issues causing flood in the area including the construction of a sluice gate. The Chief Minister said the water level of the Brahmaputra is expected to decrease from today.