Assam flood death toll rises to 62, 7 lakh affected

The flood situation in Assam remained grim on Saturday even as the water level has started to recede in some parts, while 62 people have died of the deluge and over 7.05 lakh people are affected in nine districts, officials said.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin on Friday late night, 14 more people lost their lives in the deluge during the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 62 this year.

Charaideo district witnessed seven people, including two women, drowning in flood waters; followed by six, including one woman, in Sivasagar; and one each in Jorhat, it added.

According to the authority’s daily flood report, more than 7,05,100 people have been affected in Charaideo, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Hojai, Jorhat, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon and Sivasagar districts.

Sivasagar is the worst-hit district with nearly 3.5 lakh people affected, followed by Charaideo with almost 1.9 lakh people and Jorhat with more than 1.3 lakh people reeling under floodwaters.

The flood situation has improved marginally since Thursday, when over 7.21 lakh people were affected across 11 districts.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his Government is yet to deliver relief materials to at least 80,000 flood-affected people even as the situation remained critical with many rivers continuing to rise following incessant rains.

“We are trying very hard to reach all the people with relief items, but still many are left out. In Nazira Assembly constituency, 30 per cent area or around 50,000 people are not reachable. In Sivasagar, 20 per cent of the area or 30,000 people are inaccessible. The count may be 10,000 more or less (from the 80,000 affected yet to be reached),” he said.

BJP MLA Mayur Borgohain painted a grim and helpless picture of the administration’s flood relief efforts in Sivasagar district’s Nazira subdivision during a review meeting.

He said the state machinery has not been able to reach the worst-affected areas of his Nazira constituency and around 30 per cent of the affected people are yet to receive any relief.

At present, the Dikhou river at Sivasagar, Dhansiri at Nanglamuraghat, Dhansiri at Numaligarh and Kushiyara at Sribhumi are flowing above the danger level.

Around 856 villages are under water and 56,606.78 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, the ASDMA said.

Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in different districts of the State.

The ASDMA said the administration has been operating 363 relief camps and relief distribution centres in seven districts, taking care of 1,15,205 displaced people at present.

Multiple agencies like the Army, NDRF, SDRF, Fire & Emergency Service, police and civil agencies have rescued around 1,000 people from different parts of Jorhat and Sivasagar, it added.

The authority has distributed 2,109.84 quintals of rice, 383.93 quintals of dal, 129.91 quintals of salt and 9,646.08 litres of mustard oil among the flood victims of the State during the last 24 hours.

On account of widespread flooding, 3,34,020 domestic animals and poultry are affected across the State.