Guwahati, 23 June: Flood situation in Assam worsens more with one person losing his life and over 4.5 lakh people suffering across 22 districts.
According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority’s (ASDMA) daily flood report, one person was reported dead in Tamulpur district.
According to the report, the floods currently have a negative impact on 4,95,799 people in the districts of Bajali, Baksa, Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Hojai, Kamrup, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur and Tamulpur.
With 2,60,385 impacted, Bajali is the worst-hit district followed by Nalbari (77,702), Barpeta (almost 65,221), Lakhimpur (25,613), Baksa (24,023) and Tamulpur (19,208).
Nearly 1.19 lakh people had been affected in 20 districts till Friday.
The NDRF and SDRF have rescued 561 people in the last 24 hours across 10 districts while 1019.97 quintals of rice, 189.10 quintals of dal, 55.93 quintals of salt and 5269.80 litres of mustard oil have been distributed along with 4774.87 quintals of Cattle Feed –Wheat Bran and 15.00 quintals of Cattle Feed- Rice Bran.
Currently, Brahmaputra (Dhubri; Neamatighat) and its tributaries namely Beki (Road Bridge), Manas (Nh Road Crossing), Pagladiya (Nt Road Crossing), Puthimari (Nh Road Crossing) are flowing above danger level.
At present, 1,366 villages are under water and 14,091.90 hectares of crop areas have been damaged, the ASDMA said. The authorities are running 162 relief camps and distribution centres in 11 districts where 14,035 people are taking shelter.
Nearly, 90 animals (Small, Big and Poultry) were washed away in the flood, while, 3,46,639 animals (Small, Big and Poultry) remain affected in last 24 hours. Embankments, roads, bridges, culverts and many other infrastructures have been damaged at almost 92 places in Baksa, Bajali, Biswanath, Darrang, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Nalbari, Tamulpur, Udalguri, Chirang and Lakhimpur.
Massive erosions have been witnessed at various places in Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Darrang, Dhubri, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur, South Salmara, Tamulpur and Udalguri districts, while, landslide incidents were reported in Bongaigaon and Dima Hasao districts, the ASDMA said. Similarly, urban flooding was witnessed in districts of Bajali, Darrang, Jorhat, Kamrup Metro and Kokrajhar.
Amid persistent rainfall over the past few days has led to the breach of the road cum embankment on the right side of the Mora Pagladia River at Dahakaunia in Barama causing extensive flooding in the adjoining areas. Following this, Assam Water Resources Minister Pijush Hazarika personally visited the affected site to assess the situation and promptly instructed the Water Resources Department to expedite the repair of the breached section. In addition, discussions were held regarding the construction of an additional embankment adjacent to the existing one, with the aim of mitigating future flood situations.
However, upon receiving reports of the Pahumara River breaching its embankment and nearby roads and causing floods in the Santipur and Katahbari areas of Bajali district, Hazarika visited both locations to assess the situation firsthand.
Accordingly, the minister instructed the Water Resources Department to expedite the repair of the breach and initiated discussions regarding the construction of an additional embankment parallel to the existing one.
Meanwhile, instructions have been promptly issued to ensure swift arrangements for food, medical facilities and other necessary amenities for the affected people.