At least six people were feared dead as the flood situation in Assam worsened on Friday following incessant rainfall in the upper catchment areas of Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya inundating fresh areas in the Brahmaputra valley. As many as 19 districts of the state are affected and 5.76 lakh people are marooned.
At least six people are feared to have been washed away in lower Assam’s Engalmari area in Dhubri district. A total of seven were travelling in a passenger van when it was washed away by heavy currents.
On Friday, one woman passenger was rescued by locals at Singimari area.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the situation on Friday and assured Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of full support from Centre.
Brahmaputra is flowing above danger mark in Neematighat, Dhubri and Tezpur. Jia Bharali river in Tezpur, Puthimari in kamrup, Manas in Barpeta and Sankosh in Golakganj were flowing above danger level. In Assam’s Barak valley, Kushiara river is flowing above danger level in Karimganj.
According Assam State Disaster Management Authority in the past 24 hours one person has drowned in floodwaters in Bijni revenue circle of lower Assam’s Chirang district. In the Dotma revenue circle of neighbouring Kokrajhar district two people have died.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi reviewed the situation with Minister for Water Resources Basanta Das and senior officials in Dispur on Friday and directed the authorities to provide necessary food, medicine and drinking water to relief camp inmates.
1.22 Lakh people have been shifted to 177 relief camps in the state; over 77,000 of them are housed in 133 camps in the worst affected Kokrajhar district. The floods have caused huge loss to standing paddy and livestock.
Rural road and irrigation infrastructure in lower Assam has been totally devastated, the floods have also broken down bridges and washed away part of national highways in different parts of the state. Apart form NDRF, the Army is assisting the flood rescue operations in the state.
The Army continued its flood relief operations in Lower Assam, providing succour to more than 2,500 people in the past 24 hours, Army sources said.
The Army has sofar deployed six columns along with speed boats and other rescue boats in the flood-hit districts of lower Assam.