Assam floods: Toll rises to 97 and 1.68 lakh affected
The flood situation in Assam remained critical as the toll rose to 97 with two more fatalities and over 1.68 lakh people across 15 districts were still affected by the deluge, officials said on Friday. The railway connectivity via Sivasagar district, which was disrupted for nearly a fortnight due to damage to the tracks by floodwaters, has been restored, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said.
The two deaths were reported from Golaghat and Udalguri districts, taking the toll in this year’s flood to 97 so far, the officials said.
Golaghat, Sivasagar, Udalguri, Kamrup Metropolitan, Nagaon, Kamrup, Darrang, Sonitpur, Hojai, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Jorhat, Charaideo, Karbi Anglong and Dhemaji districts were affected by the deluge.
More than 1.68 lakh people were still reeling under floodwaters, with Golaghat being the worst-affected district with around 54,000 people hit, followed by Sivasagar (49,000) and Jorhat (27,000), the officials said.
The number of affected people has increased from around 1.6 lakh across 14 districts on Wednesday.
Altogether 133 relief camps and relief distribution centres are currently operational in six districts, giving shelter and assistance to around 45,000 displaced people. A crop area of 14,382.26 hectares remained submerged.
Floodwaters have also damaged embankments, roads, bridges and other public infrastructure in several districts.
With the restoration of the railway tracks, train services in parts of the state were made operational in a limited manner since Thursday afternoon. “Glad to share that the flood-affected railway section between Selenghat-Amguri-Simaluguri-Sivasagar Town has been restored and made operational at 4 pm today. With this, direct train services between Guwahati and Dibrugarh via Lumding and Sivasagar can now resume,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a social media post on Thursday.
He thanked Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the NFR authorities for restoring the vital rail link between Upper Assam and the rest of the country.
An NFR statement said its General Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava visited the affected sections and carried out a detailed inspection of the tracks, bridges and other infrastructure.
During the inspection, it was observed that many locals, including children, along with their belongings and livestock, were taking shelter on or near the railway tracks due to the flood-related situation. “Considering the humanitarian concerns and prioritising public safety, it has been decided to initially operate only diesel locomotive-hauled trains on the restored sections. This precautionary measure has been taken to minimise the risk of electrocution and ensure the safety of flood-affected people until conditions become normal,” it said.
Several trains, such as Nagaland Express, Guwahati-Ledo-Guwahati Intercity Express, Lumding-Tinsukia-Lumding DEMU and Tinsukia-Jorhat Town Passenger, will run via Moranhat. The long-distance trains will continue to operate on the diverted route via North Lakhimpur-Rangapara-North Rangiya for the time being.
In addition, special trains are also being operated regularly throughout the disruption period to provide alternative rail connectivity for passengers travelling to and from Upper Assam, the NFR said.
