Heavy rainfall causes floods in Assam

Heavy rainfall in Assam has caused severe floods in the state claiming three lives with several villages in Goalpara, Dhubri, Lakhimpur and Kamrup (Rural) district, besides Guwahati inundated by water today.

The army, BSF and NDRF are assisting the district administration in rescue operations.
A child was killed in a landslide in Dhubri district's Hatsingimari, while one person was electrocuted in Guwahati where a body floating on river Bharalu was also recovered, state government officials said.

In Goalpara district, the army and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were assisting the district administration in rescuing the over 50,000 people marooned in 100 villages due to the deluge in Krishnai, Dudhnoi and Bolbola areas, district Deputy Commissioner (DC) Preetam Saikia told PTI.

The NH-37 was overrun by the flood waters that were flowing above the tin roofed and thatch houses in many areas in Goalpara district converting huge tracks of human habitation and farmland with standing crops into a vast body of water, Saikia said.

Heavy rains in Goalpara coupled with that in neighbouring Garo hills of Meghalaya was causing the deluge to be intensified in the district, the DC said.

A landslide claimed the life of a child in Dhubri district's Hatsingimari area and affected 50,000 people in 12 villages in that area, district administration officials said.

Incessant rain waters in the district and neighbouring Garo hills was causing water to also overrun the NH-31 halting movement of traffic, they said.

Stating that more than one lakh people were affected in the district, they said Deputy commissioner Kumud Chandra Kalita has ordered halting of ferry boat services on the rising Brahmaputra.

Hatsingimari and Mancachar were the worst-hit with the BSF, NDRF and SDRF personnel evacuating over 5,000 marooned people there to safer places, Chief Minister's Office (CMO) spokesman said.

In severely water-logged Guwahati, which is under Kamrup (Metropolitan) district, the body of a person was recovered from Bharalu river flowing through the city, while a 71-year old man identified as Ashib Bhattacharjee was electrocuted in waterlogged Netaji Road in Lalganesh area here, officials said.

In view of the worsening flood situation in Dhubri and Goalpara districts, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today directed Chief Secretary Jitesh Khosla and administration of both the districts to take all possible measures to rescue the marooned and provide relief and rehabilitation to the flood-hit people.