Assam deluge: 5 dead, 11 lakh go homeless

Bijay Sankar Bora

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Tribune News Service

Guwahati, August 12

A fresh wave of floods in Assam has left five persons dead besides rendering nearly 11 lakh homeless in 1,752 villages from 19 districts of the state.

Ferry services across the Brahmaputra have been suspended indefinitely across the state, including between Guwahati and North Guwahati, even as the water level in rivers continues to rise.

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The water level in the main channel of Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur and Dhubri while at least eight of its tributaries are also flowing above the danger mark, according to the state disaster management authority.

The situation is especially grave in eastern Assam’s Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Majuli districts. The district administration has closed down 225 schools in flood-affected areas in Tinsukia district. The Brahmaputra has breached one more embankment in Majuli river island district where situation is turning serious. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has decided to take stock of the situation in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.

Total crop area of over 1 lakh hectare has been inundated so far across the 19 affected districts.

Meanwhile, authorities have set up 137 relief camps where 63,797 persons have taken shelter and 131 relief distribution centres in the affected districts.

A large portion of Kaziranga National Park located on the south bank of the Brahmaputra has once again been inundated, forcing the Park authorities to coordinate with NGOs to protect flood-hit animals. Dibru-Saikhowa National park in eastern Assam has been surbmerged under flood water.

Two killed in Bengal landslides 

• Siliguri: Two persons were killed in landslides triggered by heavy rain in northern West Bengal, officials said on Saturday. In two separate incidents in Darjeeling district, houses collapsed in the landslides crushing two people to death on Saturday. 
• “Norbu Tamang and Mankumari Rai died in Darjeeling district. One other person has been injured and is undergoing treatment,” Gopal Haldar, district disaster management officer, said. 
• Several areas in the district witnessed landslides due to incessant rain since Friday. IANS