Eight killed, 78,000 affected, transport disrupted as rains continue to batter Assam

Guwahati/Rangia: Heavy rain continued to pound Assam on Sunday, disrupting road transport and train services in the northeastern state, where eight people have died in floods and landslides so far, officials said.

Over 78,000 residents have been affected in more than 15 districts, they said.

The Central Water Commission (CWC) has issued an ‘orange bulletin’ for the state in view of the “severe flood situation” as 10 major rivers, including the Brahmaputra and Barak, were flowing above the danger level.

A Northeast Frontier Railway spokesperson said that in the wake of heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours and water flowing over the tracks on the Baraigram-Dullabcherra section, the Dullabcherra-Silchar passenger train has been cancelled for the day.

The Dullabcherra-Guwahati Express will start from Baraigram instead of Dullabcherra, he added.

Large portions of National Highway-17 have been overtopped near Shingra Shalnibari in Chaygaon area of Kamrup district since Saturday, the officials said.

Heavy rain coupled with water flowing down from neighbouring Meghalaya has aggravated the situation in the area, they said.

Measures were being taken to facilitate traffic movement using alternative routes, the officials said.

The CWC bulletin said the Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level in Dibrugarh and Nematighat (Jorhat).

Other rivers that have breached the danger mark are Dhaleswari at Gharmura (Hailakandi), Rukni at Dholai (Cachar), Katakhal at Matijuri (Hailakandi), Barak at Badarpur Ghat (Sribhumi), Buridehing at Margherita (Tinsukia), Kushiyara in Sribhumi, Dhansiri at Numaligarh (Golaghat) and Kopili at Kampur (Nagaon), it said.

An Assam State Disaster Management (ASDMA) bulletin had said that till Saturday evening, five people have been killed in landslides and three in floods.

Three districts in the western part of the state were on 'red alert' on Saturday and eight more on 'orange alert', as per Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) data, even as rainwater from upstream areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya worsened the flood situation in Assam.

Multiple agencies, including the NDRF, SDRF, police, fire and emergency services personnel were pressed into relief and rescue operations, with people evacuated to safety from flood-affected areas, the officials said.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said on Friday that the state was facing an “abnormal situation” due to incessant downpour caused by massive cloud cover over several parts of the northeast.