Floods claim 7 more lives in Assam; 15 lakh people hit by deluge

Over 15 lakh people have been affected by the Assam floods caused by incessant rains in the region. As many as 33 people have been killed by the deluge so far including seven fresh deaths reported on Wednesday.

Guwahati (Assam): Seven more people were killed in floods and related incidents across Assam, where around 15 lakh people have been affected by the deluge with embankments, roads, bridges, and many other infrastructures damaged at various places, a government report said on Wednesday.

Thirty-three people have lost their lives in the floods and 24 in landslides this season.

Three persons were killed in Barpeta district, while one person each died in Dhubri, Nagaon, Nalbari in flood-related incidents, while a landslide claimed the life of a 50-year-old person in Cachar district, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said in the report.

The water level of river Brahmaputra was above the danger level at Guwahati, Nimatighat in Jorhat, Tezpur in Sonitpur, Goalpara town in Goalpara and Dhubri town in Dhubri districts.

The number of affected people on Tuesday was around 14.94 lakh across 23 of the 33 districts in the state while the figure on Wednesday was more than 14.95 lakh in 21 districts.

Flood waters receded from Majuli and West Karbi Anglong districts, but vast areas of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Chirang, Darrang, Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Morigaon, Hojai, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia are still submerged.

Barpeta is the worst hit with nearly 5.95 lakh people suffering, followed by 1.95 lakh in South Salmara and 94,000 in Goalpara, the ASDMA said.

District administrations and local people have evacuated 4,221 people since Wednesday in the three districts.

At present, 2,197 villages are underwater and 87,018.17 hectares of crop areas have been damaged in the state, ASDMA said.

It said the authorities are running 254 relief camps and distribution centres across 15 districts, where 15,289 people have taken shelter.

The water levels of Brahmaputra river's tributaries Dhansiri at Numaligarh in Golaghat, Jia Bharali at NT Road Crossing in Sonitpur and Kopili at Kampur in Nagaon were above the danger marks.

Embankments, roads, bridges, culverts and many other infrastructures have been damaged at various places in Dibrugarh, Baksa, Nagaon, Barpeta, Darrang, Nalbari, Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Morigaon, Majuli, Sivasagar and Kokrajhar districts.

Apart from Cachar, massive erosions have been witnessed at different places of Baksa district, ASDMA said.

(PTI)