Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will make an aerial survey of some of the flood hit areas of Assam to take stock of the situation even as there are reports that at least 23 people including minors have died due to the floods this year that have affected more than 17 lakh people in 22 districts of the State.
Officials said the Home Minister will make an aerial visit to flood-hit Morigaon, Nagaon and Kaziranga National Park and is expected to visit a relief camp in Morigaon district to take stock of the situation. He is also expected to have a meeting with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and top Government officials before returning to New Delhi the same evening.
The Home Minister’s visit assumes significance as close to 18 lakh people have been affected in over 3,000 villages in Assam’s 22 districts. The current wave of floods have also led to death of 23 civilians in the last couple of days and rendered over two lakh people homeless forcing them to take refuse in relief camps.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said a total of 17,94,554 people have been affected by the floods in 3,374 villages till Thursday evening.
Sonowal visited flood affected areas in Dhubri and Chirang districts and took stock of the relief and rescue operations undertaken for the affected people. He has asked all the district administration to take special care of all kinds of medical emergencies and the health of the infants, children and aged people living in the relief camp.
The Chief Minister also directed the medical department to keep an eye to tackle the outbreak of any epidemic and veterinary and animal husbandry department to supply fodder stock in adequate quantity.
It may be mentioned here that the National Disaster Rescue Force, the State Disaster Rescue Force and Indian Army has been assisting the district administrations in relief and rescue works and evacuating the marooned people from their houses to safer places, the ASDMA officials said.
The concerned district administrations have opened 517 relief camps in different flood hit areas and 2,29,554 people have been taking shelter in the relief camps, the ASDMA officials said adding that the NDRF, SDRF and Army has deployed hundreds of boats expedite relief and rescue operations.
Meanwhile, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has said the Railway will transport the essential food commodities to the flood hit districts in Assam free of cost and urged the State Government to avail the facility.
Prabha has also urged the CM to use the unused railway tracks as platform to house and shelter the flood-hit people.