Guwahati: The relentless monsoon fury continues to wreak havoc across Assam, displacing over 5.35 lakh people across 22 districts and claiming another life, pushing the death toll from floods and landslides to 11. Fifteen major rivers are currently flowing above the danger mark, exacerbating an already grim situation.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma undertook a visit to Lakhimpur district, one of the worst-hit areas, assuring affected residents of comprehensive assistance. The Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati has issued a grim forecast, predicting moderate to heavy rainfall across most of Assam, with isolated pockets likely to experience extremely heavy downpours in the coming days. Road, rail, and ferry services across the state remain severely disrupted due to widespread waterlogging and damaged infrastructure.
According to a bulletin from the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), a staggering 5,15,039 people across 65 revenue circles and 1,254 villages have been impacted by the deluge. Sribhumi district bears the brunt of the crisis, with 1,94,172 people grappling with the floodwaters, followed by Cachar with 77,961 affected individuals and Nagaon with 67,880. A fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours from Doboka revenue circle in Hojai district, pushing the combined death toll from floods and landslides to 11. Additionally, two persons, one each from Hailakandi and Dibrugarh, have been reported missing. The number of affected people had already exceeded four lakh in over 15 districts on Sunday.
A total of 165 relief camps are presently sheltering 31,212 displaced individuals, while another 157 relief distribution centres are actively functioning. The agricultural sector has taken a severe hit, with 12,610 hectares of crop area inundated, and 94 animals reportedly washed away in the past 24 hours. The Brahmaputra river is flowing above the danger level at Neamatighat and Tezpur, while the Barak is raging at Chota Bekra, Fulertal, AP Ghat, and BP Ghat. Other rivers in spate include Subansiri (Badatighat), Burhidihing (Khowang), Dhansiri (Numaligarh), Kopili (Kampur and Dharamtul), Rukni (Dholai), Dhaleswari (Gharmura), Katakhal (Matizuri), and Kushiyara (Sribhumi). The ASDMA bulletin also reported three breached embankments and two others damaged, alongside extensive damage to roads, bridges, houses, and electricity poles. Furthermore, 21,037 people in two districts are grappling with ‘urban floods,’ with 464 individuals seeking refuge in two relief camps.
A Northeast Frontier Railway spokesperson confirmed the cancellation of two trains and rescheduling of another due to waterlogging at washing pit number 1 and 2 of Silchar. Ferry services connecting Majuli and Jorhat also remained suspended for the second consecutive day. Chief Minister Sarma’s visit to Lakhimpur focused on areas primarily inundated by water released from NEEPCO’s Ranganadi Dam in upstream Arunachal Pradesh. Addressing reporters after interacting with locals, Sarma highlighted the breach of a Pachnoi river embankment in Amtola, causing severe damage to several villages. He assured that immediate steps would be taken to divert water through a nearby stream for instant relief and commence temporary plugging of the breached embankment. Permanent repair work, he added, would be undertaken post-monsoon from September.
Regarding his earlier meeting with NEEPCO officials, the Chief Minister stated that an inquiry would be conducted to ascertain if any fault lay with the dam authorities, reiterating that if NEEPCO’s dam was absent, the water would have flowed directly. He expressed concern over the practice of reserving large quantities of water and releasing them simultaneously, likening it to a “water bomb,” and assured serious discussions with NEEPCO to find a lasting solution to the recurrent flood issues in the dam’s downstream areas. Chief Minister Sarma further informed reporters in Guwahati that he would be visiting Cachar on Tuesday and Dima Hasao the following day to review the flood situation there. Meanwhile, newly appointed Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi extended his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in landslides.
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