Shah assures support to North-East as incessant rain claims 30 lives

At least 30 people have died in flash floods due to incessant rainfall in north-eastern states, officials said on Sunday. Following the weather’s fury in the region, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured the public that the government stood “like a rock in support of the people of the North-East”.

The officials of state-level disaster management authorities said eight people had died in Assam, nine in Arunachal Pradesh and five in Mizoram due to landslides. Another, they said. Six people lost their lives in Meghalaya, while two had died in weather-related incidents in the states of Nagaland and Tripura.

Following continuous downpour in the last three days, water level of the Brahmaputra has already breached its banks. The Army said it had managed to save hundreds of people in a massive rescue operation across Manipur.

Around 1,500 tourists were stranded in various parts of north Sikkim on Saturday as the main road was blocked due to landslides triggered by incessant rain, one of the official said.

In Assam, heavy rain disrupted road transport and train service, affecting over 78,000 residents in more than 15 districts, said another official.

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 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 had been cancelled for the day. The Dullabcherra-Guwahati Express will start from Baraigram instead of Dullabcherra, he added.

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

They said heavy rain coupled with water flowing down from neighbouring Meghalaya aggravated the situation in the area. Measures were being taken to facilitate traffic movement using alternative routes, the officials added.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of more rain across the region in the coming days. It has issued red and orange alerts for parts of Assam and orange and yellow alerts for the rest of the north-eastern region.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to chief ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim and the governor of Manipur in the wake of heavy rain in their states and assured them of all possible help to tackle the situation.

“Spoke with the CMs of Assam, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh and the Governor of Manipur in the wake of ongoing heavy rainfall in their states. Also assured them of every possible help to tackle any situation,” he wrote on X.